Well, it’s been a productive couple of weeks, and I even got a little bit of reading done! I started the process of informing the school district that we were looking into getting IEPs for the kids. We may be jumping the gun a bit on M, whose impulse control issues have greatly increased this year (we’re still working on the attention aspect), but D still has pretty bad anxiety attacks when attempting to compose written work. I noticed that when she types, the anxiety is nonexistent. (I asked her if she felt better typing, and she said “no,” but that’s not what I was seeing.) The school counselor was a bit reluctant for M, but seemed willing to start a process for D.
Yesterday, the family all headed out to the Minnesota Ren Fest, and we had a great time. (We’re having our “adult” trip next weekend, so we can do stuff besides watch the kids on rides.) Then, at 10:30pm, I picked up my nephew, J, from Valleyfair. As I was driving through Savage, a cop with flashing lights zoomed by. As I entered Shakopee, two more zoomed by. I said to myself “they better not be headed towards Valleyfair!” Sure enough. As I turned through the entrance gate to Valleyfair, two more cop cars zoomed in. My final estimate is that there were about 30 squad cars there, from 5 different cities. There was also a police helicopter circling with it’s light shining down on us. Shortly after I arrived, they shut off the entrance so that the worried parents had to line up at the gate (pretty much pulled over on the shoulder of the highway) to pick up their kids. I was “lucky” to have arrived before they shut down the gate, so I got to sit in the mess and listen to all the rumors. Which were – several fights, stampedes, a stabbing, and a gunshot. (It turned out to be several fights and stampedes. No one was injured.) I was stuck there over an hour as I waited for J’s friends to be picked up – you know, I thought I’d try some adulting and stick around until they were all safe. But as J and I got in our car at the end of the ordeal, a cop came up to us and told us rudely it was time to “move on.” Really? Would he have rather I abandoned a bunch of teens for HIM to watch over? I’m sure most of the cops there were wonderful people, but that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Currently Reading
Still working on The Hate U Give and Hillbilly Elegy. I decided to pick up The Mars Room when it made the Booker Prjze shortlist. I was torn between it and The Overstory. But I’ll start with the short one first.
Completed
Hibernator's Library 
It sounds like you had a busy week. I am glad to hear that there were no injuries at Valleyfair. ”
If you decide to post commentary on The Handmaid’s Tale would be curious to know what you thought about it.
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I am certainly planning on writing a review of Handmaid’s Tale. It is such a good book! Finally, a classic that I fully enjoyed! I’ve been having a classics slump lately.
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Was wondering myself about Handmaid’s Tale and what you thought about it. Will look forward to hearing them.
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Just reviewed it. It was fantastic (if you like feminist literary novels). 🙂
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Hope you get everything sorted out with your kids’ IEPs. I know firsthand that figuring out exactly what your kids need can be tricky!
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Yes, it certainly is tricky. Turns out M doesn’t need much of all right now, other than the meds we’ve given him and the continued therapy. He’s doing great in school!
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Yikes that kind of thing can be scary at Valleyfair- it’s tough on a parent to see the cop cars converge on a place where the kids are! Glad it wasn’t too bad! And have fun at the Ren Fest- I haven’t been to ours yet and I’m running out of time!
I haven’t read Handmaid’s but I watched the first season on Hulu and will probably start the second season soon, which I guess moves beyond the book .
Have a great week!
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I don’t know if I want to watch the show or not. I might let the book settle in for a while before I do that. 🙂
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I hope everything goes smoothly with the IEPs. Your kids are lucky to have a parent advocating for them! Oh wow. That’s crazy about the activity at Valleyfair. I am so glad no one was seriously injured. I hope you are enjoying your current reads. I really liked The Hate U Give. I haven’t yet read Hillbilly Elegy. I absolutely loved The Handmaid’s Tale! I hope you have a great weekend and week!
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I’m loving The Hate U Give, and finished the other two books (reviews coming soon – I’m running behind). Hillbilly Elegy is worth a read if you’re interested in the topic. I was sort of ambivalent about The Mars Room.
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Oh no, that is a scary thing to happen so close, but I’m glad no one got injured. Too much happens in this world already. 😔 I hope everything goes well with the IEPs!
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Thanks! I hope so too. It is so difficult to figure out what they need.
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