SOME TIMES LIFE SUCKS !

There is no other way to say it . . .  life can hit you when you're down and keep smacking you so hard that you just don't want to get back up.

Consider my youngest child . . . Three years ago he and his wife gave birth to twins.  The are adorable and precious but they are a handful as you can imagine.  For the past three years the parents of these kids have not had a full night's sleep. (I feel bad about that but I do think that problem could have been fixed.)  Add to the mix older brother who is a great kid but now has to deal with 2, younger by 4 years, siblings.  Life just got a little bit tougher.

Then there are the inevitable money problems of being a teacher. Let's face it folks. How do you live on 36 thousand dollars a year?  With 3 kids, 2 cars and rent due every month.We have all managed and I am not suggesting that my boy has it any tougher than any other parent in this day and age. His wife has a good job and makes decent money so IF you budget and plan ahead you can survive. But sometimes you really need to do a little more than "just surviving".

Now added to that EVERY year you are given the "Problem Kids" at school because . . . "You are such an amazing teacher so you can handle the problem children and still have your class achieve the highest test scores on your grade level. And we will nominate you for teacher of the year just to make up for the low pay and tough year of teaching." (Not that you will win but we will make you feel good  by nominating you.)

Add to the picture a dog and a cat. Mookie was part of Kent's life from the year he got out of college. He got her as a puppy and they were together through years of moving from apartment to apartment in Baltimore while Kent searched for his destined career. The jobs at Enterprise was a great learning experience but not really what one wants to do for the rest of their lives. Then Kent got a job working for a non-profit group in Baltimore he met his future wife and things started falling into place.

Wife to be moved to Florida and Kent and Mookie followed. And so began the move toward becoming a teacher, husband and father.

And now it all comes crumbling down like an ant hill under an elephants foot.  Kent and his wife are separating. The kids and money issues and what ever the hell else have pulled them apart to the point of misery for all involved and so an almost 10 year marriage falls apart. When the school year begins guess who gets THREE (3) prize winning disturbed children placed in his class. (Have you been out there in the stores and seen what today's kids are like? At 7 & 8  years old these children are more than I could ever handle. I think we are all in BIG trouble if our world keeps going in the direction we are headed. But that's a whole other blog!) Kent spent his entire summer taking care of his 3 kids while he is "ON VACATION". They had a great summer but caring for 3 kids in a town house that has no yard or play area and having 2 of the kids still needing a short nap every afternoon makes for a tough summer. And now you return to your job that requires you to "teach" while dealing with disturbed children tearing up the class room.

So . . .  to sum it all up, when I asked Kent if he was okay last night after he returned from the vet after having Mookie the dog put to "sleep" this was his reply;
"Other than getting a divorce. being split from my kids, my dog I've had for 16 years dying and a catastrophic hurricane on the way ? Yeah I'm good mom."

Yup . . . Sometimes life sucks !