August 21, 2026- This was one of the quieter days. Hana slept for an hour in mid-morning and for two hours in the afternoon. These naps don’t interfere with her night’s sleep, so I think this is more evidence of a growth spurt.

When she wasn’t napping, we took our stroller walk, made more enjoyable by the cloud cover,which later burned off. (This is still the dry season.) She also did plenty of standing and took a couple of scooting steps, each time, along the bars of the playpen. This evening, we all came to consensus about Hana’s meals. When she is full, she keeps her mouth closed and will not take any more bites. That is okay with her grownups.

HANA’S NOTE- I am so glad everyone understands me. It is hard not to have words all the time, but I’m getting there.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2004- Penny went from cane to walker, in the Fall of 2003. She toughed this year out, saying she had no intention of going into a wheelchair. She would also not cut herself any slack. When there was a Baha’i devotional on the second floor of an apartment building, she insisted on going up, one step at a time, on her own.

I worked through the second semester at Palo Verde Middle School, with a modicum of support from the administration. I was not holding things together, though, and resigned at the end of the year,rather than drag everyone through the gathering mess. It was actually a relief, and the Fall found me substitute teaching at Glendale Union High School District-and doing well. As it happened, the three individuals who worked to keep me off balance, in the previous school district, didn’t change their ways and were arrested for a couple of other transgressions, the following school year. I was not surprised.

Life has a way of balancing things out, even when it looks darkest.