Saturday, January 28, 2012

Finally Caving

       I am amazingly and pathetically sick today.  What a drag it is!  My typical pattern in the relatively rare times when my immune system fails me is to simply deny the failure.  I take whatever over the counter meds might mask the symptoms and I go on.  That's exactly what I did this whole week.  And that leads me to Saturday where I can finally cave and just be sick.  Still taking over the counter drugs mind you but at least putting my hands up in surrender and going into the jail.

     To be honest, I did kind of amaze myself this week.  First, I had the jury summons hanging over my head all week.  Every evening (Sunday through Thursday) I went on line and checked the County Court's webpage, afraid to see what numbers needed to report the next day.  Honestly I would not have minded so much having to report to the courthouse except that a) second trimester progress reports needed to be collected, collated, and mailed out by Friday  b) The third trimester schedule needed to be inputted into the computer so I would have enough time to place all 300+ students into classes by the end of February and c), oh yeah, the principal / superintendent was out of town all week at an educational conference.  I am the de facto principal when she is not here and, if I were at jury duty, I think my office staff might have just  walked out en masse.   So, in some previous life somewhere I must have done something good (remember as in Sound of Music?) because the jury gods decided to spare me for this round.  I can rest (on the county level anyway) for a year.

    I did manage to get all the progress reports done AND the schedule inputed in between the myriad of other tasks and obligations I fulfill.  Sadly, on Thursday, I received a concern from a student about other students having alcohol on campus.  Although I suspected adolescent fake bravado to be the source, I was  obligated to follow up.  In the end, I suspended seven students for consuming and/or distributing alcohol on campus.  One student was cited by the police department for public intoxication (he was 2 times the legal limit).  That whole process meant interviewing more than a dozen kids, talking to all seven students' parents, both on the phone to give them the news and then more in depth when they arrived to pick up their children.  I also had to talk to my peeps at the police department.  I wanted the student who was clearly inebriated to be cited because it is the best way to get him help (the others had only sipped).  He will be required to appear in juvenile court and likely part of his sentence will include some kind of substance abuse counseling.  He is only 12 years old.

     The toughest part of that alcohol incident is my own frustration around education and prevention.  I enjoy my near daily glass of wine but I am an adult and I enjoy it responsibly.  I am passionate about the need for education around alcohol and drug use with adolescents.  However,  you can talk a blue streak to a 13 year old but the need to be seen as cool, to fit in, is huge.  Additionally the code of silence  will not allow students to divulge who might be engaging in risky behaviors and so kids end up in trouble.  I need to know how to bridge this stuff.


     And this brings me back to this morning.  I really don't get sick very often but I know this is the real deal.  Probably some bronchitis or pneumonia going on but now I can stop my life for TWO WHOLE DAYS and focus on recovery.  I focus best by being alone and entertaining myself with my solitary pursuits.  Markie tells me to go get some Gypsy Cold Care Tea so I might go down to Whole Foods later and do that.  For now, I have my hot mint tea, my books, and my window on the world (both the real one that looks out on the neighborhood and the window contained within MacHenry).  I am a happy, albeit sick, camper.


8 comments:

  1. I hope you are feeling better soon!
    That whole teen-alcohol thing is so scary. The sad fact is that most adults in our culture don't use alcohol responsibly and it is glorified beyond belief. Adolescents are trying to be grown up - they get the messages of the advertising and the movies and sometimes their parents - it's cool to drink, be drunk, etc. What if collectively our adult society decided a really cool weekend pursuit was reading? How nice would that be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be VERY nice! Or if the culture made going over and visiting with someone who is lonely or helping a neighbor with chores or caring for the children of the single mom so she could go to the store by herself? What a different world it would be.

      Delete
  2. Kids are products of their environments. Parents who abuse alcohol, present one option to their children; however, parents can also model responsible alcohol consumption, i.e. the evening glass of wine, the appropriate intake of alcohol when the occasion merits. It's all in the presentation.

    JT: Keep me posted on the Gypsy Cold Care Tea-it is such an effective remedy for me. Would it interest you to know hat I have not had a cold in six years? Let's see now, how long has it been since I retired? Oh, yeah, six years. Fancy that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been drinking the Gypsy Cold Care tea all day - a cup every three hours per the directions. I'm also taking OTC stuff. Laura wants me to go to the doctor tomorrow . Considering that all I have pretty much done today is sleep and I don't seem to be much better, I suppose I will cave and do that too.

      Delete
  3. Setting an example as adults is so crucial to our children! I saw a bad side of alcohol when I was a kid, but I wanted my own children to know that a beer with dinner or a margarita when we go out is okay, normal, and not a sin! Hope this weekend finds you on the road to health. Being sick with responsibilities is just rotten!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amen to that, Michelle! I have no patience for illness - what a waste of my time..... but at least on the weekend I am not impacting ohters.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know how I missed this. But I hope by now, a week later you are much much better.
    Most kids experiment, don't they? Can you teach a 12 year old about drinking responsibly but only after he becomes of age? Would he be capable of understanding the consequences of his behavior? I wonder if there is something else going on in his life which has prompted him to go down this potentially dangerous path?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am definitely coming back to my healthy self. B/c my sister was so worried about me, I took myself to the doctor on Monday - yup - pneumonia. Having never been diagnosed with that, I was paying attention. The cool thing was that , in response to my concern, the doctor commented that, because I am "young and healthy" she was not at all concerned ! Ha! Young? Love it! I took antibiotics per her directions - something I have done only a handful of times in my life - and am about 80% back. The human body is incredible.
    As to the young man who was cited for being under the influence, yes, he has many obstacles to overcome. The biggest one is somehow extracting himself from his family culture of gang involvement and drug use. What chance does he have of doing that? SLIM, VERY SLIM.

    ReplyDelete