Sunrise, Sunset

Anyone else like "Fiddler on the Roof"? I got to play the role of Hodel in a production of the show in Valencia (CA--not Spain!) several years ago. One of my favorite songs is "Sunrise, Sunset." It's almost haunting in its repetitive cadence, rising and falling, beginning and ending and beginning again--and it sounds exactly like raising a family feels.

School has started again. The kids are less than exuberant, though Izzy has cheerfully embraced her first few days as a junior high student. I think she really likes the greater sense of autonomy and responsibility that secondary school offers. She was advanced past pre-Algebra and placed straight into Algebra 1 with the 8th grade students, and I think she feels pretty good about that. Except for the 11:00 p.m. text that appeared on my phone a couple nights ago which read, "I'm going to fail Algebra!" I called her downstairs and she appeared, in tears, with a pre-Algebra worksheet in hand that she had been trying to review so that she'd be ready for her class the next day. We went over a few rules for solving linear equations, graphing, working with decimals and fractions, and then she sighed a breath of relief and went to bed. She's going to be just fine--she just doesn't know it yet.

Joey thumped into the car after his second day of school, slammed the car door, and announced that his teacher is "really mean." What? I asked him to tell me why he thought so, and he described a couple times during the day when he had been "asking" her a question and she had "yelled" at him. [Editorial note: "yelling" to Joey means any tone of voice that is raised slightly above the volume of a gentle lilt.] I reminded him that on the second day of school last year, he had told me exactly the same thing about his 3rd grade teacher--the one he wept inconsolably about when 3rd grade came to an end and he just couldn't stand the thought of not being in her class anymore. We discussed timing and context, and Joey slowly came to understand that maybe he just needs to learn the new system. He also mentioned several incidences during the day when his teacher had been extremely nice to him--going the extra mile to make sure a class treat was safe for him given his peanut allergy, and assuring him that everything was OK when he accidentally spilled some juice on a paper they were filling out in class. Joey's a sensitive soul and this year will be as great for him as last year was. Sunrise, sunset.

I can't weigh in yet on Zach's upcoming year. He's less enthusiastic this year than he was last year, and his only response to the "How was school today?" query was, "OK." I think I got a "fine" out of him one day, too. So, we'll see. And if you're following Ben's separate blog (http://adventureswithautism.blogspot.com/) you already know that Ben's second day wasn't too great. But we're trying a few new things starting tomorrow; I'll update his blog in a day or two.

I also will start teaching at UVU on Thursday. The course curriculum is much like what I taught at BYU; still, I'm a little nervous to start over again. Chris didn't get the promotion at work, but his transition care company, Redwood Grove, seems to be picking up a little bit. As it's done before. Rise and fall, begin and end and begin again...