I Called It...

Didn't I say this was the semester from hell? 

I was eating dinner and reading assignments on the computer Saturday night.  I chewed my food and swallowed, and then realized a cap had disappeared from a back molar.  Oh, geez.  I swallowed it.  I hope I crunched it up; the idea of that porcelain crown making its way through my body is frightening. 

So, tomorrow, I need to find a dentist--fast.

Then, I called my daughter this morning to get some information to add her and her brother as beneficiaries to my insurance policies.  I asked her how the previous week went--she's two weeks into her teacher certification program at UT Austin--and she said, rather nonchalantly, "Well, funny you should ask about that.  I was hit by a car on Thursday and couldn't go to class Friday.  But I emailed my teachers to let them know."

Wait a second--back up.  You were hit by a car, and you didn't call me? 

"Well, Mom, he was only going about five miles an hour.  I was crossing Congress [It's a huge, busy street in downtown Austin] and he came around the corner and knocked me down.  I fell on my bicycle [she was pushing it through the crosswalk, trying to get to her bus].  The bus driver called 911.  The EMTs checked me out.  Nothing broken; I'm just bruised and sore."

Enough to make a mother's heart stop.  She acted as though she was talking about a walk in the park.  She was a bit disgruntled, though, because the EMTs offered to give her a $500 ride to the hospital, but no one offered her a ride home!

If she had called me, I'd have been on the way to Austin Friday before the sun rose.  But, really, what could I have done?  Make her tea, get her ice packs, take her to the doctor. I know, she's a grown person; she can take care of herself.  But that's not what worries me--what worries me are those other people, the ones who come around corners and run into my children.  I can't stop them, and I wish I could.

On Not Laboring

Is there such a thing? Though this is Labor Day, and I'd like to totally goof off, I can't do it. I've been checking email and my course sites for problems, questions and posts.

On the flip side, I've managed to do all of this while watching The Closer marathon on TNT, culminating tonight in the next-to-last episode of the season. So, I can work and enjoy myself at the same time!

I'm still reeling from the story I saw earlier this week about the mother who let her five-year-old son drive her car. Her three-year-old son was in the back seat, not strapped in; the only person buckled in was the mother, who, sitting in the front passenger seat, was too impaired to drive. When police questioned her about it, she said that he was "a good driver." Yeah. So are my cats!

I know I'm not the only person appalled at this story because the newscasters relaying the story could hardly hide their own bemusement/incredulity/outrage.

What was this person thinking? I'm not surprised her children were put in foster care; I only hope that, when/if she ever gets out of jail, she doesn't get them back immediately. Believe me--I think children need their parents, but, if those parents are impaired (or just plain stupid), the children's best interests need to outweigh the parent/child bond. I hope this woman gets major counseling, or, alternately, a long prison sentence for child endangerment.

Okay, so that's my soapbox for today. Not much else is happening besides the first week of class. Having a holiday a week into the semester throws me off some. I'm afraid I'm going to think tomorrow is Monday and not get up when I need to! I have the clock set for 6am, but my biggest fear is that I will forget to set the alarm. It's happened--not lately--but it has happened. I will be a wreck before I go to bed--almost OCD--making sure I have everything ready to go in the morning.