Where does the time go?

Sorry for being absent but I have a lot going on in my life at the moment. For starters, my department is currently being audited. No, nobody is in trouble or anything, but I swear you would find more cheer in a graveyard. The guy doing the audit has the sense of humour of a Vulcan. Whenever I pinpoint him to documents he is looking for, he doesn't even give me anything that remotely smells like gratitude.

In other news, my car died. This happened at the time that DW and I were shopping around for a tutor for SS. I hated having to put that on hold, because the longer we wait before hiring a tutor, the less chance SS has at passing this semester.

Speaking of, Donkeykong finally weighed in on the matter. To be blunt, he said that he doesn't care if SS has to go to summer school. Yes, he realizes that means he will be losing out on custody time, but (and I quote) "I am no educator but maybe this is the type of harsh lesson SS needs in order to realize that he needs to work to get results and not just sit there and expect the answers to come to him".

I hate to admit it, but I kinda agree with him. No, it is not the end of the world if SS has to go to summer school, I am just worried that this will put him on the slippery slope of feeling more helpless and stupid. I know SS well enough to know that if he feels he is being punished, he becomes utterly useless; he can't think and he can't learn from his mistakes. He just sits there, and cries.

Speaking of, I had to reset the "SS waterworks" meter. It has now been 2 days since SS last cried.

DW prepared his lunch as she does every morning. She leaves it in SS's room (normally on his bed). Well that day, the dog decided that SS's lunch was too appetizing to pass up and snuck into SS's room when he wasn't looking and tore through his lunch bag like it was the last meal on earth. SS called DW in a bit of a panic wondering what to do. DW told SS to calm down and just told him to make himself another lunch. Problem is, SS doesn't know how (remember, he is a 13-year-old with the self-help skills of a 6-year-old). DW tried to instruct him, as best she could over the phone, to help SS find where everything is and make himself another lunch. SS wouldn't hear any of it. Seems nothing would appease him unless DW dropped everything and rushed home to console him and make him another lunch.

"Look!" DW said "Either you make yourself another lunch, or you starve. I got to get back to work!" and she left him to his own devices.

SS took a slice of bread to school in a brown paper bag. That was his lunch for that day.

There was another incident involving SS's winter boots. For a solid week straight he has been coming home with just his sneakers. How his toes have not snapped off from frost bite is beyond me.

Now, usually SS would state "I forgot" and DW would berate him for it. Well earlier last week SS said that he didn't forget, but that a friend of his "stole" one of his boots as a joke. Immediately DW asked him which friend it was and he answered "Mike" (someone we don't know). DW told SS to tell Mike that unless he returns SS's boot, Mike's parents can expect a phone call from us.

A day passes; still no boots.

DW is furious. SS says that he asked Mike and he doesn't know where it is. DW asks what Mike's last name is. Surprise, surprise, SS doesn't know Mike's last name.

DW couldn't go to the school and I offered to go to the school and somehow settle this matter. I drove SS to school. He was silent the whole time. I wasn't about to walk into the school and confront this guy "Mike". I went to the VP's office, introduced myself and and explained the siuation.

The VP (a very nice lady) looked at SS and asked "Did you check the 'lost and found'?". SS just shook his head and we both went to lost and found (3 rubbermaid garbage cans) and started fishing through them. Sure enough, there was SS's boot. I was happy that this issue was resolved, but whether or not this "Mike" was the culprit remains a mystery.

So that's how my March Madness has been. How's yours?