Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Nice day for a walk from the parking lot to the gym. The water is still high, but not as high as last Friday, though it's just as cool. Seventeen of us showed up this morning, more than usual for a Monday.
Back home afterward, Hubbie loaded the office computer into the van, along with the table and four chairs we'd borrowed from a business downtown, and headed out to run errands to return the table and chairs, and deliver the computer to our favorite tech in a town about fifteen miles away.
On his way back, he stopped and bought a watermelon, the first of the season from this town that is known for its excellent melons.
Mother opted to stay home this morning, so once I was ready for the day, I fixed Ramen Noodle soup for her lunch, as well as a plate of food from yesterday's meal for her supper, because I thought she meant to stay home all day. I learned later that she did not. I asked if she felt well, and she said she was fine, but was a bit "down" today.
She's a little depressed, because she can't do the things she used to do before she fell ill last fall. I reminded her that though she won't be able to return to the activity level she enjoyed before she got sick, there are still plenty of things she can do. I'm doing all I know to help her feel useful, and keep her active.
I told her that it seems that about every ten years, we notice that we've lost some of our capabilities, but we have to just use what's left and move ahead. There are lots of things I can't do after injuring my back a number of years ago, and still other things I can't do after suffering a heart attack. Things change. That's life. We must adjust and go forward.
After lunch, I prepared a lesson for my ESL student. She called this morning while I was at water aerobics and told Hubbie that she had returned from Venezuela and was ready to meet again.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house shortly after lunch, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I met my student for a tutoring session.
The student and I enjoyed seeing each other again. She brought me four peaches, several candy-like cookies made by her mother, a small heart-shaped box of chocolates, and a baggie of treats that includes a candy bar and lots of little wrapped candies made in Venezuela.
Before we began the lesson, we caught up on each other's lives over the past few weeks. She spent her weekend, as I did, preparing a meal in celebration of Father's Day. She commented that Father's Day and Mother's Day are celebrated on the same dates in Venezuela as in America.
I learned today, too, that the student is an artist who works in acrylics. Apparently, she is pretty skilled, since her work has been exhibited and sold in Venezueala. I persuaded her to bring a sample with her next week, because I suspect the art gallery here in town would be interested in diplaying her work. I think she might also be interested in joining the gallery's Friday Painters group, because she said there is no space in her home adequate to her needs.
Today's lesson included vocabulary related to date of birth, getting a driver's license, measures of length, and verbs that express feelings. The student also practiced listening comprehension, and reading stories and then answering questions related to the stories.
Since she's becoming more fluent in English, we are able to cover two or three lessons in a session now. One sentence that she misinterpreted, though, was, "How long has Steve been working on the radio?" She answered, "ten years." She confused the idea of fixing a radio with working at a radio station.
She also had a little trouble with placing the emphasis in the right place in the use of the word "permit," as in driver's PERmit (noun), and "to perMIT (verb), as in giving permission.
Back home, Hubbie had heated leftover baked beans and barbecue for supper, which we had with slaw, potato salad, and fresh veggies. Afterward, I accompanied Mother back to her house, and helped her take a shower, then threw a load of laundry in the washer.
Later, Hubbie and I watched TV, including the second round for our favorite college baseball team in the College World Series. Our team won again!!
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