Saturday, January 16, 1999

Dear Steven, Grandy, Pappy, Grandmother, and Granddaddy,

I haven't written a letter in several weeks and need to get back in the groove. Steven, thank you for sending us the email of the details of your first couple of days back at UCLA. I hope all of your classes will be good and that you will be able to stay on top of all of your reading. It sounds like quite a lot. What did you think about your demonstration lab for science? How are the two-hour lectures for you literature class? Good luck on everything. The house has been very quiet since you are gone and Michael and David are back at school full time.

David didn't feel well on Monday and came home from school soon after he got there. I think he was just really tired after the trip to Texas and then the whirlwind of activity to get Steven ready to get on the plane. Also, we forgot to turn the timer to the heater back on, so he got cold and didn't sleep very well, and the house was really cold that morning. A day of rest made him ready to go back full speed. He had a lot of fun preparing a project for his core class. He had to make a commercial for a pretend product, so he used the video camera and prepared a script and props. Steve helped him tape the commercial (which featured Michael and me as satisfied customers). He made an A on it, and his teacher chose it as one to show his eighth graders and the principal. You can be sure that I heard about it from many sources when I taught on Thursday! David had a day off on Friday because it was a teacher in-service day. He went to a friend's house Thursday and ended up staying over both Thursday and Friday nights. He has several end-of-the-semester assignments to complete this weekend, so he will need to stay in and work tomorrow and Monday.

Michael made an A on the cultural event write-up that he did on Great-Grand's service and the trip to Sherman and Aunt Leska's house. He worked hard on several other projects and assignments, also, as he is getting ready for semester final exams. He took his first two finals on Friday and has the rest next week. Both boys have Monday off from school for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Michael celebrated the beginning of the weekend by going to a movie with friends Friday night and then to an all-day birthday party today. I assume he will find time to study tomorrow and Monday. We are also trying to get all of the furniture moved into Michael's and David's rooms, so the house is turned upside down right now. It may take awhile to get things back in proper order.

Michael is still enjoying his wrestling. He wrestled in a junior varsity meet on Wednesday and pinned his opponent in less than a minute. He was really happy about that because it was a very close meet, and his win clinched the victory for his team. He hadn't won in several outings, so he was feeling good about this performance.

Steve and I are having a hard time getting back into work mode. I volunteered at the church office on Tuesday morning answering phones and doing menial tasks. I plan to do that at least for the next month and maybe indefinitely. The office is somewhat shorthanded, so they fill in with volunteers. I taught on Thursday for two classes of ELD (English Language Development--students for whom English is a second language), two classes of French I, one class of French II, and two classes of sewing!!! None of these are areas in which I have any expertise or even any knowledge. Michael told me how to say three sentences in French (one of which is that I don't speak French), and the students were very nice. The teachers were also very nice to leave me lessons which required very little of me other than supervising. Other than those two days, I puttered around the house being only mildly productive.

With the boys out last night, Steve and I went out to eat. Michael got in late and was tired, so we all slept in this morning. We registered David for Little League baseball, and Steve has been working around the house today getting reorganized. We have had a few sprinkles, and the forecast is for more rain tomorrow. We haven't had much rain this year, which has been welcome after all of last year's rain, but we do need some now.

Mother and Daddy, I hope your trip to Greenville and Commerce went well. Did Richard and Marilyn go, too? I hope the weather was okay for driving and for the service.

Steven, we will talk to you tomorrow.

Love,