Flu

Five people have now died in Minnesota from the flu. Sadly, four of the victims were children, which is uncommon. According to the Star Tribune , a child hasn't died from the flu since 2004.

Suprisingly, the article mentions that over 30,000 people die from the flu each year. That includes 700-800 in Minnesota. I would imagine that most of these victims are elderly. People with other health impairments have a more difficult time fighing off the virus.

I'm glad the media is reporting this. It's good to remind people to stay home when they, or their kids, are ill. There are no awards for infecting co-workers and the day care kids. I do have a problem with the borderline sensationalism that has gone on with these deaths. The numbers I mentioned were buried in the second page of the Tribune story. Casual readers are not going to see that info that adds perspective to the story. They will see the headline declaring another flu death with a quote from a health official about how we tend to be complacent.

Valentine's Day

Today was the last of the Big Three. The school holiday season is officially over (except for May Day-celebrating kindergarten teachers). Here are the Big Three in order of teacher fatigue:

1. Christmas. The sheer build up makes this the clear-cut winner. For weeks kids are pre-occupied with wish lists, family gatherings, shopping trips, etc. Fun, but hard to focus.

Most heard quote from student "We're going to (various destination) for Christmas."


2. Halloween. Costumes + candy + late night = 2 lost days of learning.
Most heard quote from student: "Can I wear my blood-pumping mask?" Teacher: "No."

3. Valentine's Day. It's the last hurrah for school-wide sanctioned parties and fairly low key. They pass out some cards and treats. Most heard quote: "Thanks ____, for the Valentine." Really. It was cool to see kids seek other kids out to thank them.

I'm not sure why we celebrate Valentine's Day in school. How much romance can there be for K-4 students? Should there be any? From a kid's point of view it's not a day to miss. An hour off at the end of the day for a class party and some treats got a lot of kids out of bed this morning.

31.5 years old

Baseball
Was there any doubt the Twins would not sign Joe Mauer? He is the ultimate Twin - quiet, hard-working, one of the guys.

When his contract runs out he will be 27-28. At that point things will get interesting. If he continues to play as he did this year, he will command obscenely bigger money (unless pro sports' salaries become sane and sustainable like CEO pay). At this point he quits catching. It would be very suprising if they continue to pay top money for a position that breaks players down physically. My prediction is he moves to a corner infield or outfield spot then.

Day to Day:
Today I could have stayed after work for days and not caught up. Waiting for me are papers to correct, lessons to write, student data to analyze, a field trip to plan, conferences around the corner, Valentine's Day on Wednesday, and my book order got screwed up.

Which leads me to believe that I like my job a lot because I'm not dreading tomorrow. Where else can you work and get a sucker on your half birthday? (last Friday-thanks for the cards)

Aidan loves puzzles. He spent at least an hour tonight solving different jigsaw puzzles. I like how he congratulates me I make a suggestion about where a piece should go. "Good job. Daddy! That's fine." He's making progress. He no longer tries to force incompatible pieces together. This used to cause him to scream when he realizes that it's not right, but he's too stubborn to admit it.

Jack Earns Game Puck

Today was a big day at the hockey rink. Jack scored two goals for his team in an offensive shoot-out against arch rival "Blue Team." The coaches have been talking for a couple of weeks now about getting Jack a goal and there was much gnashing of teeth when his first breakaway wrister ricocheted off the right pipe.

Sandra and Brian watched the game along with Jodi, Aidan, and I. After nodding heads and holding finger and thumb an inch apart to show how close he came to glory, I smelled Aidan.

When I was changing his diaper on the floor of the men's room, I thought how ironic it would be if Jack scored while I was cleaning Aidan.

Sure enough, as I carried Aidan back to our seats I could tell by Jodi and Sandra's animated discussion that Jack had scored.

That's okay, I thought. Jodi missed Jack's goal in the first game and she didn't even leave her seat. After watching a couple of more line changes, Jack had another chance and zipped a wrister past the goalie for goal #2.

The highlight of the day came when I was helping him out of his gear in the locker room with the rest of the team. The coach came in and boomed, "Game pucks for Jack and Sean for scoring their first goals of the season (I think he missed Jack's first game)! Good game you guys!"

Jack's eyes were huge as he accepted the blue game puck. If hockey wasn't his favorite sport before today, it is now.