Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Today was my great-grandmother's birthday, so Nanny, Kristen and I went out to her gravesite. While we were there, we decided to visit my other grandmother, Memaw.
According to my Dad, she was buried next to a statue of The Grim Reaper. We looked, and looked. It turns out that the Grim Reaper statue was missing its sickle, and it resembled more of a constipated Biblical farmer, as it is depicted in this statue as a man with long hair and a beard stooped over, with a look of horror on his face, not the traditional looking scary Halloween grim reaper with the black hood and robe and sickle on a stick. Nonetheless, we found Memaw's grave and paid our respects. Memaw taught me how to knit. I remember how psyched she was when I showed her one of my first projects, a scarf. "Oh, I'm so glad one of my grandchildren knows how to knit!"
So, John has a conference with a parent. Because the child, a first grader, got an "Good" on her report card in PE rather than an "Excellent." The parents object, saying that their child is active in soccer and is very athletic. John tried to explain to the mother that he grades based on cooperation and sportsmanship, and that she has had to be corrected a couple of times. "Good" is about the equilvalent to a B. The phone call ended with the mother saying she would have to talk to her husband and that they may have to set up a conference, because the child got "Excellent's" in all her academic subjects.
I think about a little girl at my church named Whitney. Whitney is ten, and has cancer. Every week in our church bulletin, there is a "Whitney Update." This is the actual update from this week:
Whitney's bone marrow transplant has been put on hold following the discovery of another tumor in her stomach. She had surgery on Thursday to remove this tumor. Updates will continue as more information becomes available. In the meantime, the family has asked for prayers.
I think I can safely say that I think Whitney's parents wouldn't mind if Whitney's biggest problem was having a "Good" in PE right about now...
(If you wanna send Whitney a card, you can email me. Also, I have the address of the family of Bobby Olive, who recently lost his battle with leukemia. Some of the Baheads attended his benefit a while back. The family is so wonderful, and it may help to hear some sympathetic words. Bobby was one of my favorite patients, and I know I'll miss him.)
According to my Dad, she was buried next to a statue of The Grim Reaper. We looked, and looked. It turns out that the Grim Reaper statue was missing its sickle, and it resembled more of a constipated Biblical farmer, as it is depicted in this statue as a man with long hair and a beard stooped over, with a look of horror on his face, not the traditional looking scary Halloween grim reaper with the black hood and robe and sickle on a stick. Nonetheless, we found Memaw's grave and paid our respects. Memaw taught me how to knit. I remember how psyched she was when I showed her one of my first projects, a scarf. "Oh, I'm so glad one of my grandchildren knows how to knit!"
So, John has a conference with a parent. Because the child, a first grader, got an "Good" on her report card in PE rather than an "Excellent." The parents object, saying that their child is active in soccer and is very athletic. John tried to explain to the mother that he grades based on cooperation and sportsmanship, and that she has had to be corrected a couple of times. "Good" is about the equilvalent to a B. The phone call ended with the mother saying she would have to talk to her husband and that they may have to set up a conference, because the child got "Excellent's" in all her academic subjects.
I think about a little girl at my church named Whitney. Whitney is ten, and has cancer. Every week in our church bulletin, there is a "Whitney Update." This is the actual update from this week:
Whitney's bone marrow transplant has been put on hold following the discovery of another tumor in her stomach. She had surgery on Thursday to remove this tumor. Updates will continue as more information becomes available. In the meantime, the family has asked for prayers.
I think I can safely say that I think Whitney's parents wouldn't mind if Whitney's biggest problem was having a "Good" in PE right about now...
(If you wanna send Whitney a card, you can email me. Also, I have the address of the family of Bobby Olive, who recently lost his battle with leukemia. Some of the Baheads attended his benefit a while back. The family is so wonderful, and it may help to hear some sympathetic words. Bobby was one of my favorite patients, and I know I'll miss him.)
