{"id":21923,"date":"2026-05-31T23:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/?p=21923"},"modified":"2026-06-01T00:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T00:36:25","slug":"chapter-173-redo-curriculum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/?p=21923","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 173 Virous?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saturday, August 11, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last couple of years, whenever we had family parties, I noticed that if Laila laughed or talked, Duke would pull her into another room. When they returned, Laila would look sad, sit quietly, and not participate in the rest of the conversations.

I asked her if everything was okay. She would assure me everything was fine. But I still worried about her, because she was no longer the happy Laila that I had come to know before she got married.

In May, Laila announced that she was expecting. I was so happy for her!

I asked her and her husband what they were going to name the baby. If it were a girl, it would be Lily, and if it were a boy, it would be Alexsander. I immediately said, “You can’t name him Alexsander. My brother’s name is Sander. Our parents wanted to name him Alexsander, but it ended up being Sander for short.

Duke said, “Well, that’s what we will be naming him if it’s a boy.” I was horrified. I tried to help him understand what I had been through because of my brother. He didn’t care; instead, he just shrugged.

I have tried to like him, but now it was official. However, I would remain cordial towards him for Laila’s sake.

I have been so worried that it will be a boy, then I thought I probably wouldn’t get to see their child much anyway, because of how controlling he was.

We found out today that Laila is having a girl. I am so relieved!

Saturday, August 18, 2018 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few years ago, I started digging out this spot because I wanted to have concrete there.
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Richard told me that if I dug it out, put the gravel in, and then sand on top, he would finish it. It’s been ready for cement for a few years now.

It was hard to keep the preschoolers out of that area last year, so it would be nice to have it done before preschool started again.

Since I know Richard will never get around to it, I had a few people come and give me a quote for how much it would cost to have it finished.

A young man who was just starting out spent a long time measuring and figuring out how much material he would need. He then said he would finish it for $1000.00. I was thrilled about it and asked him how soon he could get it done. He said this week. I was excited that he would have it done before preschool started.

When Richard saw the man, he went up to him and said, “We don’t need it done. I will do it.” I felt so bad for the young man. Before he left, he gave me his card and said, “In case I change my mind.” After he left, Richard told me not to call him and assured me that he would do it.

Sunday, August 26, 2018<\/strong>

I had planned on only doing preschool in the morning, like I did last school year. Since a lot of people signed up, and I didn’t want to turn them away, I ended up having both a morning and an afternoon class.

I am excited and nervous about the first day of preschool tomorrow. All day at church, I kept telling myself I was prepared, so there was nothing to worry about!

When we got home from church, I went to pull out the file I had made named September. I was horrified to see that it had water damage. I looked at all the files. They were all damaged!

I quickly called Richard to tell him. He said a pipe must have burst in the closet where I was storing everything that I had prepared for the year. I couldn’t see any pipes broken. He told me it was a slow leak and that he would fix it right away before it did any more damage.

I was grateful that he knew how to fix the pipe, but I still couldn’t understand how so much water could have come through without my noticing. I started to panic. Then I realized that I had saved everything on the computer. All I needed to do to get ready for tomorrow was to print and laminate all the songs and activities.

I also had to Photoshop the kids’ pictures and put them on the paper I had designed last year. So that shouldn’t be too hard to get done.

When I turned on my computer, the preschool files wouldn’t work. I had Richard look at my computer to see why. He told me I had downloaded a virus, not to worry, because he knew how to remove it.

It seemed to take him forever. I was getting nervous because it was getting late.

When he was finally done, he said, “Aren’t you glad you have such a smart husband who knows how to fix your computer?” I kissed him and assured him I was grateful for him!

I quickly went on the computer to start printing what I would need for tomorrow. But I couldn’t find the file. I went and got Richard again. When he sat down to look at my computer, he told me the virus that I had downloaded had removed all the preschool files. I told him I thought it was odd because everything else was on the computer. He said, ” Yeah, looks like when you downloaded some stuff to the preschool file, it got erased when I removed the virus.”

Since I didn’t know much about computers, I believed him. <\/em>

I felt sick. Everything I had worked so hard on all last school year was gone! I would have to start from scratch.

Since I had to redesign the paper for tomorrow, I thought it was no use crying about it, so I set to work.

Monday, August 27, 2018 <\/strong>

I didn’t get much sleep last night because it took a while to redesign the paper we needed for today. I also had to redo the songs and everything else that I needed for September.

Even though I only got a couple of hours of sleep, I got up at 6 am to make sure the house was cleaned and everything was ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Princes must be sensing my nervous energy because she keeps looking at me, then out the window, to see what is going on.

I managed to have everything ready by 9 am when the first call started. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Morning and afternoon classes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first day went well. I must have been living on pure adrenaline because when the last child went home, I crashed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, August 29, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Glad to see them have fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I managed to get through another day. I had to spend most of the day yesterday preparing for today. It was upsetting since I had already done it all before. I have to remind myself that it’s just one more year of preparing it from scratch, and next year it won’t be as much work.

Saturday, September 1, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday, September 9, 2018<\/strong>

Richard told me I should have Duke rebuild my computer so it would work better. My computer seemed to be working just fine. Richard said it still needed more work, but he didn’t have time. So Laila and Duke came out on Friday to get my computer.

They brought it back this evening.

It ended up being another long night, since I had to get all the papers ready for tomorrow.

Friday, September 28, 2018<\/strong>

I made a few t-shirts to wear to help reinforce the letter that we were learning that day. I was hoping to have the whole alphabet done by the end of the school year. But with having to redo the whole curriculum, I doubt I can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday, October 13, 2018<\/strong>

After Duke worked on my computer, it wouldn’t open my files. It would say, \u201cYou don\u2019t have permission to open this file. Contact the file owner or an administrator to obtain permission.\u201d It was so frustrating because it was MY computer, and I kept having to ask Richard for help. Everything was taking me so much longer to get done.

While Duke and Laila were at our house today, I asked Duke to fix my files so that I wouldn’t have to ask Richard to open them for me every time I needed something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duke looked at Richard, then Richard said, “Oh, good idea, let’s go to Anne-Mette’s office and have a look at it together.”

While they were in my office, Laila said, “I don’t know why he did that to your computer.” I told her it had been so frustrating. We both assumed it had been done by mistake.

When they were done, Laila asked me to come to the hospital when she delivered the baby. Duke made it clear that only he and Laila would be at the delivery. He would let me know when I could come see the baby.

I asked Laila to send me a text when she was on the way to the hospital so that even though I couldn’t be there, I would know it was time for her to have the baby. Laila assured me that she would.

Saturday, October 20, 2018<\/strong>

When Johny and his wife came to visit, Johny said, “Mom, you are always working so hard. You never seem to be able to take a break! If you won the lottery, you would never have to do preschool again. Just think of the fun things you would be able to do instead!” I thought about it and responded, “If I won the lottery, I would spend it all on the preschoolers.”

I must admit that having to redo the curriculum has taken a toll on me. I have to hang in there until I have it all done, because I do enjoy what I am doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday, October 22, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I love that Princess always knows when it’s time for preschool and waits for the kids to arrive. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Sunday, October, 28, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emily hosted a baby shower for Laila. It turned out so nice!

I was grateful that Beth never asked me if she could invite our mom.

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Monday, October 29, 2018<\/strong>

In the spring, I had the preschoolers plant pumpkin seeds. I can’t believe how big some of them grew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I put a stick with their names by each seed.

Even though some of the preschoolers have moved on, they came back to pick up the pumpkin they planted.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Wednesday, October 31, 2018<\/strong>

I love having the parents come at the end of the month to see their kids sing the songs that they have learned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The kids all dress up today since it’s Halloween.

It’s so fun to see them in their costumes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Monday, November 26, 2018<\/strong>

After the Thanksgiving program, we had a Thanksgiving feast. All the little ones brought food to share.

Richard took the day off from work so he could dress up as a pilgrim with me, just like he had done last year.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018<\/strong>

During preschool, I got a text from Laila saying that she was having contractions. She and Duke were on their way to the hospital.

Even though Duke had asked me not to come, as soon as I was done with the last class, I headed over to the hospital.

When I got there, I could tell Duke was not happy to see me. I pretended like everything was fine, because I had been worried about Laila and wanted to be there for her.

When Duke wasn’t listening, Laila thanked me for coming.

The whole evening, while Laila was in labor, all Duke talked about was the two rabbis that they had. I could tell the nurse would try to talk about the baby they were about to deliver, but Duke would steer the conversation right back to the rabbits. I thought it was so odd!

When Laila gave birth, Duke never looked at their baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the nurses were poking Lily, she started to cry. When they were almost done, they asked Duke if he wanted to hold her. He still didn’t look at her and just shook his head no.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I was worried that the nurse would ask me if I wanted to hold her. I thought I couldn’t hold her! I don’t want to bond with her. With the way Duke was acting, I was sure he would forbid me from coming to their house to see her. After everything I had been through with my other grandkids, I couldn’t go through so much pain again. It would be too much for me to bear!

That very second, Lily stopped crying and looked straight at me. It was as if she had heard what I was thinking. Then it was as if I could hear her thoughts as well, “Don’t be afraid to bond with me, I need you in my life!” I was taken aback. We stood there looking each other in the eyes for just a few seconds.

I said, “Hi Lily, nice to finally meet you!” The nurses said, “She stopped crying now that you are talking to her; she must recognize your voice.

I wanted to say, “Not really. I haven’t seen my daughter very often since she got married. But despite that, I guess my granddaughter still knows who I am.” I knew she wouldn’t understand, so I didn’t say anything<\/em>.

Then the nurse asked, “Would you like to hold her?” I answered, “Yes, I would love to!”

She was so precious! I couldn’t understand why Duke wouldn’t want to hold her or even look at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, December 20, 2018<\/strong>

All night, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Duke had acted while we were in the hospital. Something wasn’t right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I went back today to see how things were going.

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When I got there, Duke was holding Lily. When he wasn’t listening, I talked to Laila about my concerns. She had already talked to him about it because she, too, had wondered about it. He told her he had acted that way because he was nervous about being a dad.

I was still bothered by it, but I didn’t say anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday, August 11, 2018 In the last couple of years, whenever we had family parties, I noticed that if Laila laughed or talked, Duke would pull her into another room. When they returned, Laila would look sad, sit quietly, and not participate in the rest of the conversations. I asked her if everything was okay. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21923"}],"version-history":[{"count":213,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22168,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21923\/revisions\/22168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}