January: A Month of Ups and Downs

February 3rd, 2025


Wow, January really flew by! It feels like it was here and gone in the blink of an eye. Ricky has been keeping busy with his daily dance sessions—he’s definitely got a routine going there. This weekend, he ventured out for some night fishing on the Columbia River. He managed to catch some Walleye fish, so we’ll see how they taste soon. Fingers crossed they’re as delicious as they sound!


Emma wrapped up her online semester, which was a huge milestone. Watching her struggle with the workload, though, was tough. It’s hard seeing one of your kids work so hard and not being able to fix it for them. Online school can be really overwhelming, especially when you're teaching yourself and have a mountain of reading and assignments to tackle. I tried to help her out last week, and one lesson took us two hours to get through. It was exhausting! Between trying to take notes, reflect, and deal with all the digital distractions, my eyes were ready to explode. But the good news? She got her driver's license in the mail—look out, world! She’s officially on the road now!


As for work, it’s been another week full of challenging behaviors. Eloping (when students leave without the teacher knowing) seemed to be a hot trend this week. It felt like at least one kid from every grade level was trying to sneak off somewhere. Add to that slamming Chromebooks, punching, hitting people with stuffed animals, and disrespectful language toward adults—it's mentally draining to deal with, but part of the job.


Finally, on Friday, I had the pleasure of getting two MRIs done at the hospital. The machines are so loud—it was a strange experience, but at least it’s over now.


All in all, it’s been a month of highs and lows, but we’re getting through it one day at a time!


-Roxane