Monday, April 16

Had a problem getting to sleep last night, and just as I drifted off around 1 a.m., a sudden flash penetrated my eyelids. My eyes flew open just as it boomed thunder. Storm warnings had been cancelled by that time, but I wondered if we were in for one anyway. Nothing else happened, but I had trouble going back to sleep.

So I wasn't happy to hear the 6:30 alarm go off later. But I dragged myself out of bed anyway and got ready to go to water aerobics.

It was chilly this morning, after a cooling rain last night (we got a little over an inch), so fleece wear and a fleece hoodie felt good. The pool was a bit cool, but felt good once I was used to it.

About 20 of us showed up. Our leader announced that she'll have a second cataract surgery tomorrow, so we'll no doubt have a substitute leader Wednesday.

Back home, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee before getting ready for the day. The first thing I did once I was dressed was check my social network page. I found a message from my niece in New York, who reported that my brother is very ill with dementia and other ailments, and it's getting more and more difficult for her to care for him. Though she does not want to, she might be forced eventually to put him in a nursing home.

After lunch, I accompanied Mother to our house. She planned to resume work on a jigsaw puzzle she began a few days ago, but we couldn't find it. When we asked Hubbie about it, he said one of the cats had jumped onto the table, where it, and the cardboard the puzzle was on, slid onto the floor.

So Mother had to begin the puzzle again. This is the second time one of her puzzles has been dumped on the floor. The first time, she knocked one off while she was working on it.

While she worked on the puzzle, I reviewed the lesson plan for my ESL student, who I met at 2:30 at the college library. The student continues to suffer miserably from allergies. She's taking three medicines, but just can't control the problem.

She was willing to plough through her lessons, just the same, and today she learned to use emphasis words am, is, are, and do: "You aren't Spanish." "Yes, I am Spanish." "He isn't married." "Yes, he is married." "They aren't home." "Yes, they are home." "You don't study English." "Yes, I do study English."

Then she learned to use indefinite pronouns: everything, something, nothing, anything. "Everything is on the table." "Something is on the table." "Nothing is on the table." "There isn't anything on the table." The use of anything was a stumbling block for her.

There was also a lesson on prepositions of location: "Ray is sitting between Kay and Carla." "Carla is sitting next to Kay." "David is sitting in back of Carla," etc.

She finished the session with reading a story and answering comprehension questions.

At home, Hubbie had put leftovers from yesterday's roast beef dinner in the oven, and we sat down to the meal at our usual 5 p.m. hour. Afterward, I accompanied Mother back to her house, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including the made-for-television movie, "Titanic." This is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of that luxury ship.

I can't begin to imagine the terror those people must have felt, especially the ones who went down with the ship or jumped into the frigid waters. When we visited the Titanic museum in Branson, one of the exhibits was a container of water the temperature of the sea the Titanic was in. Visitors were invited to see how long they could keep their hands in the water. I could stand it only a few seconds. People died of hypothermia within minutes of being in that frigid (about 28 degrees) ocean.