Tag Archives: Dysart Unified School District

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 4

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Striving

August 25,2026- Hana had another good day with her mother being around. She was again very active and vocal, calling up to me, every so often,as I spent much of the day clearing out boxes and hauling a couple of them to Goodwill.

Her newest attempt is to try and climb, but there is no foothold in the playpen-so fortunately, this is not something that rings alarm bells, yet. We are actively planning out which cabinets and drawers will get the zip ties, where the gates will go and which currently accessible cords and plugs need to be moved. We have about two months to get that all arranged.

Hana’s favourite book, right now, is “Love, Monster”. When she looks at the rather innocuous hairy beast on the cover, she growls “Raaaah”. Then she opens the book and gives the monster a kiss. She likes the ending, in which the red-haired monster falls in love with a brown-haired female monster.

HANA’S NOTE- I am tired today, after a strange dream just before I woke up. I am glad that Mommy and Papa are here, so I am safe.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2008 We spent a lot of our nest egg on an inchoate stem cell treatment. We were just willing to try anything to counteract Polyglucosan Body Disease. Penny spent most of the time that she wasn’t working on her Masters Program researching the disease and any possible treatments. She found an American-run clinic in Tijuana that looked about as promising as anything available in the U.S. It didn’t have much effect and follow-up treatments were beyond our means.

Then, the housing bubble burst, and we were on the ropes with our mortgage, which we had been paying down fairly well up to this point. As autumn turned to winter, I was still working for WIS and at the two school districts (Dysart and Glendale Union). Penny was still getting her retirement and SSDI. Aram worked for WIS, a while longer, then was mostly covering for me, while I was at work.

The bottom would drop out, in the year ahead, and family would be our saving grace.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 2

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

August 23, 2026- With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Hana held onto the re-organized wall of the playpen for nearly ten minutes. When she decided to sit down, she looked down at the mat and planned out her breaking of the fall, using both hands and both feet to make for a soft landing.

I was largely absent today, working an 11-3 shift at a Red Cross Blood Donation Center, in Irving, about a 30-minute drive from here. The family went on a shopping trip, before I left, so I didn’t see them again until nearly 4 p.m. Hana was asleep, when I first came home, but hearing me talking with her father, she called out and wanted to be taken out of the crib. In short order, she was back to pulling herself up, standing for several minutes, letting herself back down and starting over again. The calisthenics can last for thirty minutes at a time.

She also likes to be seated at the table when we are gathered there, even when she has already had her meal. It is just a sign of how important family time is to the little girl. We give her teething toys and cardboard books that she can hold and focus on the covers, which she likes to touch and study. Being included gives her much more stability and security.

HANA’S NOTE- Daddy changed where the playpen is, so now I can’t grab the curtains. Shucks!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2006 Penny fell asleep in a faculty meeting. For this, she received a letter of reprimand form the principal. When this matter came to the attention of the Human Resources Director, Penny was offered a generous disability package and enhanced insurance. She was allowed to retire. This came about, just as she was adjusting to being wheelchair bound. Other physical challenges also presented a problem. It was just time to focus all our efforts on make life least stressful for her as possible.

Still, in all this, she began studying for her third Master’s Degree, this time in Educational Technology. at Arizona State University-West Campus. As Aram was finishing his senior year in high school, there was his mother, forging ahead in another area of knowledge. I was supplementing income, over the summer, by working at Washington Inventory Service, and was soon joined there by my son. I worked for them for three years, along with substituting in Dysart and Glendale Union. With all this, Aram and I managed to meet Penny’s needs at home.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 1

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 22, 2026- Hana was in a dress, for most of the day. This was to mark the passing of eight months, since she arrived, very quietly, in our midst. It didn’t stop her from practicing her standing or from dancing around with her father. When we finally went out for dinner, she had eaten hers and made a proper mess of her garb. She wore a more comfortable onesie. when we went to H-Mart’s Food Court.

This past month has seen her master sitting up, begin standing, with assistance or by pulling herself up, and making her own preferences known. Hana does not like wearing hats, at least not when she is in a stroller. She is okay with being put down for a nap, but not so much for being put in the play pen and just left. She wants to engage us in activities, which include having one of us lie down and letting her crawl all over us. After several minutes of interaction, she is ready to play on her own. She will eat anything put on her plate, but when she is full, the mouth stays closed and nothing will change her mind. Hana is often quiet around strangers, yet lately, she has started to say “Hi”, to people who seem friendly.

HANA’S NOTE- I had a bunch of photos taken this evening, mostly of the same pose. It seems my Mom likes to take a lot of the same pictures. I just want them to be done.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2005 I began this year with a five month assignment at Dysart Unified School District, as a preschool aide. It was more fun than I had anticipated and I bonded well with “the littles”. A couple of the children latched onto me, almost as a surrogate grandparent. That was okay.

We stuck close to home, during the summer, spending a week or two in Prescott, with Penny’s parents. They moved from the house in Kingswood to a more accessible house in a development called Willow Creek Gardens.

In the Fall, I took a substitute assignment at a high school on the far west end of Dysart, teaching World History. The classes were 2/3 serious students, 1/3 unruly. The department staff were helpful, the principal was officious and the assistant principal made everything a game of “Gotcha”. The serious students, and I, were just as glad when the regular teacher returned.

That Thanksgiving, we began several years of Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of either of two brothers, Irving and Nathan Robbins, friends of my in-laws. They alternated, and Penny’s mother brought a pie or sweet potato casserole to contribute. Christmas was spent at the Grand Canyon Baha’i Conference, at the Marriott Resort, near Desert Ridge, in north Phoenix. several hundred people attended, usually dressed in their finest. Penny began to use a wheelchair, around the time of the holidays. I had to carefully monitor her, as she tried to get up and walk, but her legs weren’t cooperating. A nurse who worked part-time at the YMCA showed me how to correctly lift Penny, by locking knees and then lifting with my legs. That made a hard situation a tad easier.