Grade School, Revisited

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to go to school and spend the day with Ashanti.  Her school is very big, so I took my scooter, knowing I wouldn't be able to walk as far as I needed to.  She attends (and Leah works at) Leopold School in Madison.

The first thing I noticed was the smell.  It brought me back to my grade school, Thomas A. Edison in either Morton Grove or Skokie - I can't remember.  I guess all grade schools have that familiar smell, although what it is, I couldn't say.  Rolling down the hall to Shanti's class was very exciting, as all their artwork was posted on the walls and I loved it.  If I had gone to college, I would have liked to have been an art teacher - my favorite subject and past time.  However, as it was, I hated school and barely graduated high school, so my work life was boring and mediocre and not at all fulfilling.  I was a really foolish young person.  My dad would have put me through the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most prestigious schools in the country -- but I could't envision my life down the road, much less one day to the next.

We started in Shanti's main class - or homeroom, I would call it.  It was very cute with signs, instructions and lessons pasted all over the walls.  The kids sat two to four at miniature tables on miniature chairs - as well as I - and my behind was pretty sore by the end of the day.  Shanti was so excited I was there, which made me feel very special.  I loved being a small part of her day and was very proud as she introduced me to all her teachers and friends as her Grandma.  Many of her friends in other classrooms kept asking her, "Is that your Grandma?" and she would cheerfully answer, "Yes!"  I imagine they were a bit confused as to why she would have a "white" Grandma and she was "brown."  You gotta love 'em.

Leah warned me in the car that the kids swear, kick, run and act crazy and that I shouldn't lose my temper or try to correct any of them while I was there.  She knows me too well.  I have a short fuse with naughty behavior.  I was actually waiting for one of the kids in Shanti's class to explode, but it never happened.  I think they were trying to figure out who I was and it diverted their behavior for the day.  One little guy had to be escorted out of the room at one point, but came back a short time later.  I was totally amazed how different the classes were than when I was in school.  Most of the time, it seemed like kids were all over the place, walking, talking and doing what they wanted to do, regardless of what their teachers were instructing them to do.  All we had to do was talk or laugh out loud and I had one teacher that would tape our mouths shut or slap our hand with a ruler.  Of course that was a different era, but very few of the kids, if any, ever acted out like kids do today.  We were immediately sent to the principal's office and suspended or expelled, depending on the "violation."  I remember one teacher in junior high, that was particularly volatile.  Somehow we found out that if you throw a coin up to the ceiling that it would stick, so when he was at the blackboard teaching with his back turned, we would throw our coins up to the ceiling, which of course, was hilarious to us.  When he finally realized what we were doing, he threw a couple boys with their desks against the wall, in a rage.  The teachers today seem to have a whole lot less control than when I was in school. I really give them a lot of credit - I would never be able to do what they do.

One thing I thought was so sweet is that the teacher in homeroom had the kids sit in a circle as she explained things and asked questions.  At one point, each child shook the child's hand next to them, and said "Good morning, so and so," and the other child would answer back with the same, as they went all around the circle.  I thought that was very cool.  They're learning manners and politeness in this class and that really impressed me.

I had lunch in the lunchroom with Shanti and her friends and that was interesting.  The lunchroom monitors were like little Nazis, screaming in the microphone to "Stop talking! Zero for noise!" etc., etc., and no one was really paying attention to them, including me. We were eating, for pete's sake.  How do they expect little people to be quiet at their lunch tables?  I asked the little girls, "Is she always that mean?"  They all shook their head "yes."  It was probably a good thing we only had 10 minutes to eat.  I scarfed down my soup and it was time to get out of there and go out for recess.  We had recess twice in the day which was fun getting out in the beautiful weather.  They could run, scream, yell, jump and play to their heart's content for a little while, burning off some of the energy they had.  One thing I did notice, which was no doubt the same when I was their age, was their inability to sit still.  Every one of them, squirmed in their seat, got up, got down, got up, got down to do this and that.  It was pretty funny.  All that energy packed in a tiny body.  Boy, I wish I had that energy today....

Although I was looking forward to the bell ringing at the end of the day, so I could go home and sit in a big-person's chair, I had a lot of fun.  It made me feel great to see Shanti so happy that I was there.  I wish I had the chance to do this when my children were small, but of course I always had to work.  The only times I was at their school during the day, was to discipline them - never to enjoy seeing what they were doing, and because of that, they were never glad to see me either.  If you're a parent or grandparent or even an aunt or uncle, you might want to try to do this sometime with your little person.  The impression it makes is a lasting one, for them and for you.

Goodbye, Insulin!

I finally moved into a normal, one-bedroom apartment in the same building, on May 1st.  The rent is much higher, but I was going crazy in that matchbox of a room they call an efficiency.  I'm still unpacking but taking my time as there really is no rush.  I found some of my mother's stuff in one of the boxes - old pictures of her, my dad, my brothers and I.  I also found a couple letters my dad had written to my mom while he was in the Marine Corps, dated in 1946, before they were married.  I read them and saw my dad in a different light than I had known him my whole life.  He was still sarcastic, as he was telling my mom that she was "stupid for quitting college," (which I didn't know about), but also tender in a way I had never known him.  He was describing basic training to her and the fact that he wouldn't send her a picture because they had shaved his head.  Reading the letters made me cry and I realized how much I miss him.

I also found cards, poems and stories that I had written when I was about 8 or 9 years old, that my mom had saved all these years.  I read them and tried to recollect writing them, but I couldn't.  There were also a few letters/cards from Danny and Richard that were written when they were very young.  I packed all of this in a good box and will be storing it for my kids to find one day.  History fascinates me, especially personal history, and maybe my kids will feel the same when they find this long after I'm gone.

It's been approximately 8 weeks since my surgery and I am feeling much better.  I am eating regular food now except for raw vegetables, which I'll be able to eat in June.  It is odd that I can only eat a very small portion of food, and if I eat too fast or too much, I will throw it up.  It's taking me a bit to figure this all out.  When I get hungry, I think I can eat more than I can, and I pay for it afterward.  To avoid that unpleasantness, I am learning how to eat slowly and in very small portions.  From the time I started cutting out sweets, coffee and pop, sometime in early February, I think, I've lost 65 pounds.  I think it's going rather slow, but I'm not exercising like I should.  My lower back and knees are still very painful and I can only stand or walk just so far, then I have to sit down.  The doctor told me that "the damage has already been done," and will always be there, but it should get better with more weight loss.  As for the diabetes, that is completely gone!  I am no longer taking insulin or Metformin.  My blood sugar has been normal since the surgery, which is a miracle.  My doctor also decreased my blood pressure medicine and removed a few others altogether.  I've already given away half of my clothes and fitting into ones I haven't worn in years.  I've got a long way to go, but I'm on the right track and it is a great feeling.

So if you wonder whether I think the surgery was worth it, my answer is, absolutely yes.  The 2-week liquid diet, the nasty drink before surgery, the pain of the sutures, having to eat baby food, the feelings of nausea and even vomiting is all worth it, if it means gaining my health back.  I know I won't feel or look like I was when I was young, but just to feel better is worth it all.  We really don't appreciate how important our health is until something happens or we just grow old and body parts stop working or not working as well as they once did.  My only regret is not recognizing this so many years ago.