Saturday 5 September 2009

School Report

Well, week one is over. It was remarkable in it's ease, order, lack of stress and quite frankly, at the risk of boring you all...... normality!

Rory managed to sit at a desk for incrementally longer periods each day. He won stars for helping others to clean up. He held crayons, coloured pictures, played in the yard, sang songs, and sat with his classmates while they ate their lunch. By Friday, he even licked a Malteeser!

His Special Needs Assistant (SNA) is a qualified nurse with years of experience in a special school, where kids had been fed through every orifice, so boy wonder's NG tube is, dare I say it, nigh on normal to her! She manages him with such ease, grace and good humour, that he is more than happy to comply with her rules. I'm already wondering if she'd consider moving in with us!!

His teacher is warm, charming and a consummate professional. You can see the kids are just hanging on her every word. It's so lovely to watch a nurturing introduction to education. Thankfully things have changed since my days in primary school; where my abiding memory is one of terror.

I re-started my own formal education on Friday. It was quite a flashback walking round the campus of Galway university. It's been a very long time since I sat in a classroom. When I looked round at my classmates it was very clear very quickly that I was very much the elder lemon, by a very very long way. It's daunting but exhilarating.

My brain shrinking, lobe lumping, temple throbbing form filling exercise paid off as I am now the proud recipient of higher education grant. This affords me a second chance to rebuild a working life, for which I am extremely grateful.

This year will be busy, we'll be under pressure, but it'll be a pressure of our own choosing.

Cheers,
Ann







6 comments:

Paddytraveller said...

You'll always be a junior lemon to me!! Good luck with the studies Ann. I'm incredibly impressed by you, Rory, the Kidney and Jess. mwa.

AnnB said...

Hey Paddytraveller thanks but I can't figure out who you are, I have a few ideas but nothing firm.......any chance of a hint?

Paddytraveller said...

It's Elsa! Ciao baby. sorry it took me so long to figure out my password etc that I didn't think of signing my name at the end of the blog because I was in a right lather. And then I was trying to think of something to say that would sound heartfelt, but not obvious or patronising or just silly.
and in your honour I will be planting a lemon tree dans le jardin today. So no mystery person I'm afraid. Just little (vertically) old (very) me.
Elsa x

AnnB said...

I thought it might be little ole you! But couldn't be sure! How the hell are you? Think of me when you're slicing that lemon into a G&T! Mad flashbacks to our college days going on lately - it's so weird being back in Smokey Joes!
Missing the orignial Paddy and his dog tho the place just don't seem the same without them - far too tame altogether!
xxxx Galway gang

Anonymous said...

Indeed it is a bit odd returning to old stomping grounds. What are you studying anyway?
the lemon tree will be bearing fruit for next year's gin and tonics. 3 years in one place is quite strange but rather nice. I bought the place I'd been renting and am pottering about doing a few odd jobs and getting the garden into shape. All those home improvement programmes I've watched are bearing fruit.
I'm off to a camp for the week with the 3rd years so that will be a bit of fun - all outdoors stuff. Your email is still the same I imagine. I should really email you there.
Take care cupcake and keep on posting. All the crap aside, you're one helluva a writer.
Mwa.
Elsa

AnnB said...

Send me an email - I don't think I have your address