Monday, April 1

Today is April Fool's Day, though I didn't try to fool anyone, and no one tried to fool me.

We were up at 6:30, so that I could get ready to go to water aerobics. It was a cool morning, but not unpleasant, for the walk to the gym. Today is Easter break for the college, so the parking lot was empty.

The pool was really warm, so much so that the regular lap swimmers were angry and refused to swim in it. I suppose it was a tad too warm, since we could see steam rising from the water. I'm sure the temperature will moderate considerably by Wednesday, though.

About 20 of us showed up today...way more than usual, probably because it was such a nice day. We were a bit crowded since one lap swimmer, who is training for a triathalon, didn't let the warm water deter him, so he occupied two lanes on one side of the pool, which meant our group had to squeeze up to make room for him.

Funny: one of the ladies who swims in the deep end commented that a younger woman she had been talking to for the past several days chose to stay in the shallow end and talk with a couple of other ladies. The lady said she feared the young woman would never get away from those talkative older ladies.

Usually, this woman is one of those talkative women at the shallow end. Today, though, she declared that she just wasn't in a chatty mood in the mornings. Could have fooled me, since I've rarely seen her when she wasn't talking. When I mentioned this to one of the other ladies, we both agreed that we are obviously not able to see ourselves as others see us, which is probably a good thing.

Back home, I enjoyed a cup of hot coffee, and then Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a haircut appointment tomorrow. Before he did that, he accompanied Mother to our house, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle. Once I was ready for the day, I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning, what little was left of it.

After lunch, Hubbie called a repairman to come check the oven on our stove and was told it would be a few days before he could come. So I'll need to plan meals that don't require the oven until it can be fixed, or until we're forced to buy a new stove.

Usually on Mondays, I spend time reviewing lessons for my ESL student, but since she is leaving in a week or so to go live in another state, I decided that for our last meeting at the college library, we would just visit. So I met her at 2:30, and we talked until 4 p.m., when I gave her an early birthday gift of a quart jar of local honey, and a farewell card. She was excited to get the honey, since it was on her list to buy a jar before they left. She and her husband have been enjoying honey for breakfast each morning as a preventative measure against allergies.

It was a tearful goodbye, since we'd grown to be friends as much as tutor and student, while she learned to speak and read English over the past year or so. She is not fluent in the language yet, but she can speak and understand English well enough that she was able to interview for and be hired as an assistant to a woman who owns a real estate agency in the state where she will now live. Her boss does not speak Spanish, so the student will be forced to converse with her in English, which is very good.

Also, I gave her the level 4 workbooks she began working in, so that in her spare time, she can work on her own. The Literacy Council director is also referring her to a Literacy Council in her new state, so she can get another tutor.

I'm very pleased to have been able to work with this special lady, who made me proud by being named our state's Literacy Council Student of the Year. If I decide to tutor another student, I hope I'll be assigned to one as hard-working as this one.

Back home, I heated leftovers from yesterday's Easter dinner for supper...in the microwave, of course. Afterward, Mother sorted pinto beans, which I rinsed and put into water to soak overnight. Then Hubbie accompanied her to her house.

Before we relaxed in front of TV, Hubbie and I rode around the neighborhood and beyond looking for our black cat. We had hoped he would be on the porch this morning, but he was not, and he is nowhere to be found. We suppose he is lost and may never return. If he has tried to come back, the other male cat in the yard probably ran him off. I hate that he is missing, especially since he was a favorite of Hubbie's. Tonight, one of our female cats meowed as though asking for him, since they spent a lot of time grooming each other.

A missing cat, a broken oven, and my student leaving made for a less than joyful day. But the weather was nice...though predictions are for cold, rain, and a smidgen of wintry stuff during the next few days. After that, warm weather is supposed to finally arrive and stay for a few months.