Up, Down and Around

The Natester Nate had a 'bad' day at school yesterday. He brought home math and science and is still behind on AR points. He said he only got one sheet of his reading comprehension done. *Sigh* I asked why and he said, "I just can't do it." I said, "'Can't never could' but let's move on to your homework." I asked him about the math. He said, "I was dawdling." I hate that word with a passion. My mom used that word many, many times in my childhood. I asked him who had said that to him and he just said, "It was one of our spelling words one time." So he attaches it to himself.... I don't like that. I have found that if Nate gets stuck on a problem then he stays stuck. He was having trouble half-way through his math and I asked him if he knew what the ones below it were and he said he did. I said, do the ones you know first, then come back to the other ones, just make sure you leave space for your answer. Oh. This way... you get all the ones you know done and then have time to go back to the harder ones. What the poor kid was doing was not being able to do a certain problem and sitting there and sitting there, not moving on, not asking the teacher. No wonder he's not getting anything done. Same thing with reading comprehension. Nate hates to write (he didn't get that from me obviously). What he's doing is answering some questions on his worksheets then coming up against a lot of writing and stalls out. I told him to do all the multiple choice/fill in the bubble/fill in the blank parts and then come back to the writing so he gets more done and has the time left to write his sentences. Oh. Afterwards, he comes into the computer room and says, "You know, that math and science wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." Hmmm... so he thought it was too hard so he's not even been trying??? Yes? No? Even later as we got ready for bed I was trying to put in his little brain what I had said earlier about doing the problems he knows and then I said, "See, you can do reading comprehension just fine." "No, I can't Mom." "You just did Nate." "No, I didn't." "Yes, you did. You read your Science book and answered questions. That's reading comprehension." "Nuh uh!" "Uh huh!" "No, its not." "Yes. It. Is. You read something in a book. You answer questions. That's reading comprehension. If you can't understand what you read you can't answer the questions. You read your science, all about mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds and then you answered questions. THATS reading comprehension. It just happened to be science." Silence. *Wheels turning over and over in his little mind* (Hopefully) And then Sperm Donor happens to call. (Let's all dance a jig.) He asked how Nate was doing in school so I told him. I told him about Nate's troubles and what he and I had talked about etc. When I finished he said, "I'll see you later," and hung up. This makes the 2nd time he's done that in the past two weeks. If I don't just say, "He's doing great!" then he doesn't want to hear it and he definitely doesn't want to take any responsibility for helping Nate to work through it and do better. He just expects to look at Nate and say, "Do better or else," and Nate is supposed to do it. Right. AZ AZ was featured in the Life & Style section of our local newspaper on Sunday. My mother actually called me and told me about it. Since it was a few degrees above freezing, Nate and I walked the mile round trip from our house to the local convenience store for coffee, hot cocoa, cigarettes, a newspaper and then swung through Tudor's on the way back for biscuits. It was nice to get out in the crisp air. It was funny reading the article about someone I know so well. Then putting the paper down and shaking my head. I resisted calling him until Monday to let him know I had seen the article and wondered why he hadn't told the writer what a cesspool he thought the world was and how miserable his existence in it is. He chuckled when I said that and remarked, "I was trying to keep it positive." I had actually done an entire post on the people we find behind the faces we see around us but it turned into something else so I just put it in draft. My receptionist also kept a copy of the article and gave it to me so I offered it to him since I knew he would want to send one to his Mom, brother, Nana, aunt etc. He said he would appreciate it and I told him I would drop it off at either the print shop, the real estate office, or drop it in the mail, but he said he would just swing by and pick it up. *Raised eyebrow* *quizzical look* M'kay. Stupid People Clients of mine drive for two hours yesterday to pick up a settlement check for one of them... without calling first or waiting for my call... which is what I told them to do. Then I have to scramble to get the checks written and have an attorney sign them. Luckily, I had an attorney available. Then they come back because the bank won't cash the check because the guy's ID is expired and has been expired for TEN YEARS!!! (Yes, he is mentally handicapped but still...). I tell them to get him another ID. They come back this morning, again without calling. They tell me they can't get the ID right away because of they have to send off to Richmond, VA for a birth certificate (how is this my problem?) They don't want to deposit in someone else's account because then it will take 10 days to clear (how is this my problem?) So they want me to walk them down to the bank and get CASH. NO FUCKING WAY... if it was $3000.00 maybe, but not $9000.00 without my boss's express consent. And, so sorry, but my boss is not here and won't be here until later this afternoon. Should have called first. The office manager and I had a long discussion and she went out to break the bad news. I suppose I'll see them again in a few hours when they think the big boss will be here. Whatever. Going to work this Saturday... make sure everything is in line for trial on Monday. If I don't see ya, have a good weekend.