Wednesday night, the boys should be asleep upstairs in their room, or at least close to asleep, by now. M is off at a committee meeting. I could probably use a beer or two, some television or maybe just a book. Today was a good day. Well, I suppose today didn’t start off very well, because I slept through basketball, but the day improved from that point. I slept later, by the way, because T was sick last night, and I was up on and off making sure he was ok. Apparently he woke while I was sleeping, however, and watched television for a while on his own in the middle of the night. I was surprised to hear this, but he was able to describe the content of a few shows I recorded for him, so I believe he’s telling the truth. I guess you can’t quite prepare for the first night your son doesn’t need you to sit with him when you’re awake in the middle of the night. I remember not long ago he didn’t want to come downstairs on his own in the morning. Anyway, while T was sick yesterday, he was clearly better today. He wore one of my Brewers shirts all day, recovering, and he seems ready for school tomorrow.
Back to the day, I’m getting off-track. After breakfast, etc., I drove to a local coffee shop and started on the research. A student had recommended this coffee shop, but I hadn’t taken advantage of the space in the past. I think I went up the wrong stairway once and confused myself as to what was the appropriate work space. Well, today I found the right space, bright and airy, a reliable net connection, and decent tables. I could have done without the lame new age pop and the two women bitching about the local schools on the other side of the room, but those complaints are minor. I knocked out eight pages of painstaking analysis and synthesis over the course of six hours. Normally I write very quickly, but this was slow work, and I did stop for lunch and checked my email every now and then. By the time I arrived home, after a library stop, I was exhausted. T wanted to hang out, so we watched television together, played on the new computer, and ate dinner. T also snowboarded a bit in the backyard while I watched. I didn’t feel like I had to rag at him at all, though. Nice night. Later M left for her meeting, the boys and I read a few books, and, as I said, they’re near sleep, if not all the way to their destination by now.
Eight bullet points, here we go:

N’s learning, language, and behavior have improved tremendously lately. I have to keep in mind that the other boys (especially T) went through the same pattern when they were younger. I’m optimistic on his progress. The school wants to test S’s speech, which surprised me, as his reading is absolutely through the roof.

Tomorrow I’m going to see “Pan’s Labyrinth” with Mary. I never go out on week nights. Hell, I hardly ever go out on weekdays. I feel a bit weird about leaving my kids on a Thursday night, but I really want to see the movie and this time is as good as any.

James has been sending me emails from Hawaii. He gets back early next week.

Either I’m losing my mind or my work’s email service is fucked up. I’ve had two students tell me they hadn’t received emails I’ve sent, and I had a woman organizing a conference tell me she never received a proposal I thought I sent. Even stranger is the fact I can’t find the proposal in any of my documents. Bizarre. I know my memory is fading, but come on, creating a document and emailing it, all in my head?

I could use a beer tonight. I might try to work out in the morning, if I can get up that early.

I’ve been reading Dante’s Inferno. Great material, not nearly as intense on the reader as some of the other classics, but worthwhile in a way I have a hard time describing. I might put Dante down tonight, however, for a book on people who like to read.

We’re broke. We’ll get out of the hole eventually, but we’re trying to be careful about spending cash on things we don’t need. I think the post-Christmas spending inertia is more dangerous than the Christmas season.

I attended church on Sunday and liked the service. My mentee (I need to email him, by the way) and I attended together. I would have blown off the service had we not planned on attending the service together. Snow was falling pretty hard. Still, T, S, and I hit Best Buy before the service, threading over a slick, dangerous I43. The trip was not all that wise, but I promised the boys we would visit Best Buy, and I didn’t want to let them down.

The semester has started, and I feel like I can breathe a bit. I need to water tomorrow, though. I’ve been slipping. Maybe I need to rethink the “once a week” first floor watering policy. Maybe I need to water more. We’ll see. Good night.