Our Island Family Life

We are as ready for school as we are going to be. I have a headache really just thinking about it.

Looks like I have wrangled another job for the fall and winter working for our little store a few hours a week. Hopefully I can survive with that, the post office (if it doesn't close) and the day care I do. Hopefully. Will is helping out too now that he is working which is nice. I could never count on his child support anyway so it all a bonus. Especially now that Sean no longer has to pay for him. Will of course is trying to balance work and school. It's hard I know. I am struggling with mine. I did well last semester but not really feeling it this semester. I am doing the work but not as quickly as I should. It hasn't helped I have been off and on ill recently. I had some really bad head pain last week that had me down. Stomach trouble too. I am ok now but now I feel like I am behind in everything.

On a fun note we have already planned a school field trip for September. It is an inter-island get together on Matinicus island. We have to get there by either plane or someone's lobster boat. It is 20 miles out and has a one room school house like us. The kids have been conferencing via skype for a few years now and do book groups together and even some classes. It's great experience with technology as well as socialization. Every year we all try to physically get together with the other outer islands. They have one kindergarten student this year just like Sofie and a girl too. Everyone wants them to get together so much it's cute. We will be camping in tents for two days and I have to come up with an activity. Their school goes to 8th grade. I wish ours did too. Oh well. I will have to leave Will in charge for those two days. He will so enjoy that. Can you read the sarcasm there?

Sofie came home from her visit yesterday. I let her stay an extra day so she wouldn't have to come home during the storm. She had me struggling to keep a straight face on the boat ride home. She asked me if I knew that Kathryn had a scar on her chin. I didn't recall her having one before so I said no. Then she said, "Maybe if she was nicer, people wouldn't want to beat her up and leave scars." Now, I did not ask if this scar was a result of an actual "beating up". It could have been an old bike injury for all I knew. I thought it was interesting Sofie thought she was mean enough to deserve a beating. Then she tilted her head and said, "Maybe Ramona did it." This told me it must be a fresh wound. I didn't want to think if Sean had done anything. He gave me stitches once but it was an accident. I said to her I didn't think Ramona (the "baby") was strong enough to do something like that. Sofie was very animated by then and assured me of how strong the toddler was. She pointed to a fresh bruise on her leg and told me how the girl had come "out of no where" and punched her in the leg. "She has a strong head and strong fist and strong legs!" I rubbed her leg and asked her if she told daddy about it. She nodded and said, "Daddy yelled at her then he grabbed Ramona real tight on her arm and yanked her to put her in time out." I am not sure if I should feel glad Sean finally did something to protect his daughter or bad for how angry he was to the other girl. She is only two after all.

Well, back to work my break is over. I am at the post office today.