So, I’m trying twitter now. I’m bigsam82 in case you’re interested. I must admit that I had reservations at first, but I’ve gotten over them now. I’m stinking loving it! I just dunno if I can keep it up. On the one hand it’s less stressful than blogging because you can’t write very much even if you want to. On the other hand it’s more stressful than blogging because you have to post more frequently if you don’t want to get lost in the whole thing. I just don’t know if I can keep up. Jeez, I sound old don’t I?
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Archive for April, 2009
So, I promised a good friend of mine that I’d post an update about our dog Toby. Toby is coming up on 11 months old and he’s a whopping 12 lbs now. He’s still the most awesome dog ever. However, new developments are beginning to threaten this status. For some unexplained reason Toby has started to growl and bark angrily at children. Children! Cute, lovable, cuddly, children. It wouldn’t be so bad if he did this to large mean dogs or cats or even at suspicious individuals, but children. We have no idea why this has started happening. It’s ever weirder because he used to be great with kids, and he still is great with our good friends’ toddler son. It’s so strange. Today we were at a park and he was running around playing with his little puppy tongue flopping around and his nub tail wagging like crazy. All of the sudden he crouched down, pinned his ears back, and started growling like he was staring down Osama bin Laden himself. Then from around the corner comes this precious little 3-4 year old girl with her mommy. She was so happy to see a little puppy and was coming over to pet the adorable creature when Toby let her have it! He was barking and jumping around and growling like he was just livid. Luckily he’s only a twelve pound miniature terrier, so even this is cute looking. The mother didn’t look upset at all. She just smiled widely and said, “Well aren’t you just the most intimidating little thing. I am so scared.” Anyway, I’ve compiled a highlight reel of Toby’s life so far. Enjoy!
I’m still in the process of searching for a manny position. I had an interview with a family on Saturday, and they were absolutely wonderful! They have a 5 month old baby boy who is just precious. I really really want this particular job more than any of the ones I’ve interviewed for thus far. This is for several reasons. First of all, the boy has a neurological disability. Since being at the middle school, I’ve realized just how much I miss working with children with disabilities. I love the challenge. I love the hard work it takes. I love the time spent thinking about things from a different perspective. I love the payoff and celebration when the child finally gets something that you’ve been slaving over. I love it all, and I miss it. Second of all, I miss working with infants. I’ve only ever done it in a nonprofessional role, but I have always been a baby guy. I’ve been a nurturer since I was old enough to not be considered a baby myself. I love the intense, intimate, & relentless way that babies interact with everyone and everything in their environment. They soak everything up like little sponges and it reminds me that I need to have the same innocent curiosity and pure enjoyment in life. Thirdly, I want this job because I really really liked this couple and I think that they would be delightful to work for and with. They are very pleasant people and people that I could see myself not only working for, but enjoy getting to know in the process. He’s an actor and she’s a professor, both of which are professions that I find endlessly interesting and appealing. They really seemed to have a deep love for their child and a strong desire to see him grow into a good man someday. They believe that their son has a great deal to offer despite his challenge and they want to make sure that he has every opportunity to overcome whatever limitations he may have. I couldn’t agree more. One thing I’ve learned as a special educator is that a child with a disability has an exponentially greater chance to reach far above and beyond what doctors, teachers, or specialists believe is possible when they have parents that believe in their abilities more so than their disabilities. These parents are soooo far ahead of the game in that and several other aspects. They already have early intervention therapies going with this kiddo and they seem to really know what they’re doing in the search for a nanny. They want to make a decision this week, and I think that this would be an excellent fit all around, so keep your fingers crossed for me for the next couple few days. I’ll let you all know when I hear something.
