Dog wrestling....a very long post..

  ~"The unexamined life is not worth living"~ Socrates

  This morning, as I was being dragged down the street by my three dogs, I thought to myself-"Crap, I'm  glad it is Friday" .,And as I twisted on the asphalt trying to control my three demons beasts animals (who had escaped our yard) my blue and white striped pajama pants easing their way down my legs as I desperately held on to bits of dog in an attempt to stop them from pouncing on a neighbor and his puppy..I also thought.".there has got to be an easier way" , How did I wind up with three dogs?"...and" please please please let me be wearing underwear without huge holes in it."

  It has been a crazy week of great highs and utterly extreme lows. There was a bullying incident (This time with Sammy-and while it is not the first for him this year-I can absolutely guarantee it will be the last)  Nothing screams "ONLY? 72 hours till Friday" like a group of concerned parents telling me of an incident that happened involving my son at school.  Yup-there is nothing like having to email and call my sons support people at night to find out what happened. Guess what! They didn't know about it either! I'm still waiting for the principal to call me-to let me know how this was all resolved-you know to assure me that my son would indeed be safe both in and out of the classroom.   Sam and I have spoken at length, I just think that it would be responsible   awful nice if the principal discussed it with me as well. *sigh* Why am I reminded of the Jimmy Buffet song "If the phone doesn't ring, it's me"?  hmmmm.... In the meantime,  I screamed called a team meeting for Tuesday-It should prove interesting.

  Not all of the week was bad. Oscar, had his biography fair and oral presentation at school. I have to say that I was plenty nervous for him. This is a very big project..HUGE..GINORMOUS...The kids pick a person in history they are interested in and write a report on them.  They also make up a journal, birth certificates, posters, costumes and give an oral report. Unfortunately," Mario" is not an actual living person, nor is" Little Bill", or either" Phineas and Ferb. "  We had to pick a real person-and who better for Oscar than "Mel Blanc".

  It isn't easy to get Oscar to focus.  He has so many other things he would rather be doing-namely anything other than school work.  Thankfully, we have a very dedicated team of people working with him, who insisted
assisted him with his project.  When I walked into his classroom(to watch his report) on Tuesday morning, I really didn't know what to expect. I think in all honesty-I wondered if he could do this..Yeah..I was anxious.  Here is my boy-one of the biggest joys in my life about to stand up in front of his class and give a report.  There is a part of me that just wants to protect him..envelop him. I think every parent feels this way from time to time.  He is so innocent and joyful-and I was afraid that.. if he couldn't do this-he would..I don't know....be hurt..feel as if he failed? So many conflicting thoughts.especially after last weeks incident..so I busied myself with the camera..until it was his turn.

  He was...wonderful..he went to the front of the room..he was so focused..as he stood there waiting for his cue to begin. He read his information from his index cards..and when he was finished took questions from his classmates. It went off without a hitch. I didn't realize until later when we watched the video quite how wonderful it was. Everyone of course commended him for a job well done.  It was watching Oscar watch himself that was magnificent. It was almost as if he had a self revelation. He saw what he did-really saw it and was...kind of in awe. Which makes me wonder if he is not as confident as we have all thought him to be. He watched himself and he glowed...shined. Held himself in a way I had never seen before. My boy-saw himself and knew KNEW he was everything we told him he was..smart..wonderful..a person in his own right..He beamed.

  I wish that I could say that the rest of the week went as smoothly..No, I didn't get any phone calls.. It was family reading night that did us in.  Our school does this every year. It is a fun evening where families get together to listen to stories- there are door prizes, food...and free books. Oscar likes picture books..especially if their are animals involved.  So there we were looking through the offerings..when the person manning the table decided that we were somehow lost..and kept insisting on directing us to the table with books for older kids. At first I just smiled and tried to ignore her...but she wouldn't stop...even after I gave her the "mother" look and firmly stated we were fine where we were...(I did so want to tell her to shut up)-. She was just so cheerfully insistent.  I was so uncheerfully pissed-that I didn't see Oscar walk away and grab a random book from the older kids selection. I didn't realize how upset he was..until I saw him standing with Omar. Trying so very hard not to cry..to hold himself together  Where was my boy  from the night before?  Had he been done in by the very irritating book lady? Oh how I wanted to throw things at her..

   After my early morning dog wrestling peep show (I wonder if there is a career in that?) ,  I could not wait for this day to be over. The only thing standing between me and two days off (if you can call being alone with four kids "off") was the biography fair at school. Oscar and his classmates, would have their own space to display their work and answer questions from parents and students. Oscar once again was magnificent-he held it together for the entire day.  Answering questions, standing at his station..even when I went and whispered "lets go to hairy world!" in his ear.  Although he did inform me that the biography fair was no place for jokes. It was a mostly shining week for him. Not so much for Sam....I can't speak for the dogs...or my neighbor. But Oscar did inform me this evening that he was "amazing".  I tend to agree..