Monday

The Ants Come Marching In

But it's not Hurrah, Hurrah.

The storm is over, but the aftermath is still continuing. With the rain washing out the ground, the bugs are looking for new homes. We've had to battle ants, spiders, & mosquitoes. Mosquitoes LOVE Bear. And, last night, I had to do battle with a roach. A roach. In my bathroom. As I was hunting it down, I was reminding myself that at least I have a house for a roach to get into. At least I have light to shine on that nasty thing. That doesn't meant that I want to house a family of them.

Another aspect of the aftermath is education. The kids are out of school the rest of this week. That's going to make a total of 12 days missed. We won't know until October if those days will be waived or not. With Hurricane Rita, we had 10 days waived and we only used 5 of those 10. So, we are hopeful, we will only have to make up 2 days. That still makes our students behind tho. And, for some students, they will not be going back to an ideal situation. Some of the schools were hard hit. Crews are working round the clock to get them ready for Monday. Just enough to make it safe for them to attend.

Part of the reason we are still off is safety issues. Mainly transportation. There are missing stop signs, traffic lights that are flashing red or not flashing at all. Debris blocking streets and corners so you can't see around them. I really do not see how all of that will be taken care of by Monday.

I went back to my school today for a meeting. I didn't realize how anxious I was about it or my work family until I was there. It felt so good to be inside and see that all was relatively well. The people are relatively well. At least physically. We will take on new students, those displaced by Ike. We will take them on and we will do our very best for them. Not just for their education, but for their spirit too. We will give them a safe place to spend the majority of their day. Please continue prayers for those in this community. We have no idea how some of these kids have been living these past days; what they've seen or heard.

Our website says: We miss our students! How true that is. I'm ready to see them. Not the ants and other insects tho. I'm ready for them to rebuild their lives outside now.

11 comments:

Tales From the Eurovan said...

So sorry for all the "unexpected" things from a hurricane...we don't think about ants and roaches! Yuck! We have so much hurricane Ike stuff that has washed up on our beaches. It's very surreal...stairs, telephone poles, etc. I'll be praying for all the teachers and staff at school. It's quite an emotional undertaking. Our church is taking up groups to Galveston to help for at least the next 6 months. The first group went this weekend. The pictures they showed in church were unbelievable. Was it hard to get around while driving? I mean are traffic lights working and is debris on the streets? Be careful and take care,
Julie

Jillie Bean (AKA Bubba's Sis) said...

Getting around is awful - most of the traffic lights are out so the traffic backs up badly. There is still debris all over the place. Like you, D..., I long for some routine and normalcy around here!

Forgetfulone said...

The mosquitoes are awful! My kids are so bitten it's pitiful. Aren't you so ready to have the kids back at school? Even though it means I have to go back, too, I just am so tired of this!

Anonymous said...

I feel for you all. It must be terrible. We have also been plagued with ants this year - and we can't even blame it on a storm. They are in my dishwasher. I cannot get rid of them. Isn't that disgusting? Want to come over for dinner?

jennyonthespot said...

You are a precious woman. There.

littletoesandcheerios said...

So sorry you have all had to go through such a mess. I just could not even imagine.
Keep your spirits up:)

Anonymous said...

I HATE ants with a purple, flaming passion. And don't even get me started on roaches. I'm glad that normal seems to be in sight, if not fully arrived.

Forgetfulone said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

Becky said...

Today was the first day back for kids in our district, and it was SO GOOD to see them. It instantly brought a feeling of normalcy to an insane last 11 days. I was thrilled to see their smiles!!! Cool new layout!!! :)

Stacey said...

Awww sweetie, I'm so sorry. I am hearing it's horrible down there, and here I am in my comfortable home feeling like I should be down there helping!

Hey the blog looks fantastic-o! Wow wow wow! Now I need to think richer colors, I like these! Lots. xoxo

Anonymous said...

Well written article.