PARKER'S SWEET TRIP TO SF

one of the assignments that parker had for his social studies curriculum was to write a travel journal. since getting sick, parker has had immense struggles with brain fog, written word and transferring his thoughts on to paper. in order to overcome his challenges in these areas, he creatively thought outside the box. he ambitiously set forth to create a photographic travel journal. 


i loved this idea... and not just because it's right up my alley as far as creative interests lie but because it nailed a ton of 'learning outcomes' all in one fell swoop. and the bonus? it meets the criteria for learning outcomes in just about EVERY subject. and the double bonus? he got to use several media mediums that he is developing a keen interest in - photography, window media movie maker and stop motion animation.


his travel journal is primarily based on our last trip to SF...with the addition of a couple shots -mainly of taylor - from prior trips. before we left on this past trip, parker planned out what he would like to all include in his journal and then made sure to take pictures of those things. on one of our days in SF, he and avery grabbed the camera and disappeared (around the hotel) for about an hour. the pictures those two cooked up are definitely reflective of their comedic side. oh my!


his final product is fantastic! and we he has worked very hard on it for the past month and he finally completed it today! we are so proud of him! and i am so happy that he has asked me to share it here on my blog! i am excited for others to not only see it - but to catch a glimpse of him. parker may have lyme...but it does not have him! it does not define who he is. he is a truly sweet, remarkable, courageous, determined and hilarious kid - i am honored to have had him as a 'pupil' and i am blessed to call him my son.

one last thing - a gentle reminder...


You have 2 more days to email me a little message of congratulations to Parker for completing Grade 7! (more info here) a huge thank you to those of you who have already done so! 


so far I've received 11 beautiful messages of congratulations... I'd LOVE to have a whole stack of messages to gift him with.

sngoertzen@gmail.com

GRADE 7 GRAD

Dear Friends,


I have a special request!! 


Next Wednesday, (June 13) Parker will have officially completed  grade 7. Yet, b/c he's been ill & was unable to attend his public school, he will miss out on all the Grade 7 GRAD festivities. That really bites. Grade 7 Grad is a BIG DEAL - and if any kid deserves recognition for reaching this milestone, it is Parker. He has had to persevere and overcome extraordinary challenges to accomplish this. 


I would love to have his accomplishment acknowledged in a special way. So I am asking YOU, my friends, to send me a short email of congratulations for him by June 13. 


My hope is that I will be able to mark this momentous occasion with a huge stack of congratulatory and encouraging messages to present to him. I can already imagine his reaction - one of bewildered delight...his sweet, shy smile spreading across his face and lighting up his eyes. He is a kid that shuns the spotlight - but I know that this will mean the world to him. To know that people care enough to acknowledge his accomplishment will be something he will carry with him in the years to come.

I am wanting to surprise him with this on June 13, so please email your messages to sngoertzen@gmail.com as soon as possible


thx so much :)

COO-COO

NO, the coo-coo is is not another attempt at articulating human noises thru prose.
and 
NO, i've not gone cuckcoo
but 
i was nearly driven cuckcoo by a coo-coo.


while we were in SF, we spent pretty much 2 whole days at DR H's office. the first day, we were there for 6 hours straight. the second visit lasted just over 4 hours. the length of the visits was due, in part, to the IVs i was put on. they take 2 hours to infuse. our second visit and appointment with DR H went longer than expected and ended on a rather low point. we were emotionally drained at the end of it and all we wanted to do was head back to the hotel and crash. graham and i were desperate for some quiet in order to process all that had been discussed during our appointment.

yet, we still faced another 2 hours in the IV clinic that is part of DR H's office. we hunkered down in the clinic while nurse jim mixed my IV and then prepped and accessed my vein for my infusion. at some point during this process, the sound of coo-cooing faintly filtered in thru the walls of the clinic. great, just great. evidently a pigeon with lots to say had taken up residence somewhere just outside the window. before long, it had amped up the volume. nice. 

coo-coo coo-coo COO-COO-COO coo-coo COO-coo

the constant droning coo-cooing went on endlessly. the thing would not shut up. initially it was just slightly irritating. but as the minutes ticked by, the coo-cooing became louder and louder until it had intensified into a frenzied state of coo-coos. clearly, the thing was worked up over something and it was impossible to ignore.


graham and nurse jim began to "interpret" the coo-cooing. of course, their comments leaned on the exaggerated scenario of a husband and wife dialogue. you know, the stereotypical "poor beleaguered man being hen pecked by his wife" scenario. i tried to act appropriately miffed over such blatant chauvinism but it was actually pretty funny.


at some point during their pigeon translation services graham began to impersonate mr rogers. honestly, my husband does the BEST mr rogers voice EVER. i think he sounds more like mr rogers than mr rogers did himself.

it is actually quite creepy. he methodically and slowly drawled into an intro speech, 
"hello boys and girls, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. won't you be my neighbor? well friends, today we're going to learn about a special friend of the sky. sometimes, if we're lucky enough they live in our neighborhood. also, our word of the day is a big long one...strangulation."


of course, then mr rogers launched into a PG-13 rendition of pigeons in the neighborhood. i'll spare you the details.


terrible. i know.
but
terribly hilarious.

honestly, we were all ready to strangle our neighborhood pigeon. we had good reason. by this point, it had been carrying on for at least 30 minutes. the incessant "coo-coo, coo-coo, coo-coo" was so insanely nerve grinding that IT would have driven even poor mr rogers round the bend.


it certainly was driving us cuckoo.  


finally, we'd all had enough.


graham got up to see if he could find it. he opened the window and after a bit of awkward neck craning to search the surrounding ledges, he spotted the feathered offender. 


dropping the mr rogers drawl, he lilted into a scottish accent, he pleasantly bequeathed the pigeon, 
"hello pigeon. could you please tone it down a tad, lad?" 


now, he says it turned to look at him and had the nerve to smugly coo-coo right in his face.


i don't know if this is true or not...all i know is that all of a sudden, he nearly launched out of the window and whilst remaining true to his scottish impersonation, he belted at the top of his lungs...

"shut your pie hole you wee blasted creature of the air!"

and all went blessedly quiet. 


i suspect the pigeon is planning for our return in august.