The week that keeps on giving.

No matter how smoothly your weeks roll along, there is always a week that jumps out to spit in your eye and kick you in the shin. Then you have a week like the current one that I have experienced that goes one step further and punches you in the face. I have no desire to belabor the point. It can be easily summed up:

• Monday: At an unexpected parent conference, I was confronted with the mother of a very wonderful boy informing me that she is dying of terminal cancer with an unknown lifespan expected. Very hard to listen to her talk about when she is "no longer here" and not knowing "how many more days she has left" and to hear her worry about her son's future that he will face without her, while she (and I) both cried. Oh I've had numerous students who had lost a parent at some point or other, but never have I faced the dying to plan for the inevitable grief that will affect her son and his education without her. Words are no good.
• Although the rest of the week pales in comparison to the events of Monday, Tuesday continued to be a bright spot of wonderment (I lie.) Not only is Jack's trying his darndest to fail 5th grade this week (and doing a very good job of it,) we also took him for his last appointment before the braces go on (2 weeks) only to learn that he had lost a filling. Sadly, he told me sometime a couple of weeks ago that his mouth was hurting. Pass the Mother of the Year Award my way because I told him it was all in his head. Well....wasn't it, technically?
• Had another one of those parent confrontations conferences today that required the giving of my mouth to God prior to phoning the Hover Mother in a desperate attempt to guard my employment. Turned out pretty well after HM realized her agenda was lost on me.
• Tomorrow I have the EXTREME (pun intended) pleasure (sarcasm intended) of watching a traveling troop of steroidical maniacs who inspire kids with their uplifting message, and while they're at it, they rip a phone book in twain. Twain? Er, in two? Anyway..oh yes, the perfect, oh yes, PERFECT, ending to this school week.