12 JAN 26

Pushing through prime numbers that morning... Yali is distracted staring at his mutated reflection in a socket wrench... **snicker snicker**...

I need to leave the table for a few minutes... “Guys... no fighting... I'll be right back... just start working on the next section”... they nod like it's no problem...

Five minutes later I return to both seats empty and Patience squealing around the corner... “ST-OO-OO-OO-P YALI!” // “HAHAHAHAHA!”...

Teacher can't be gone five minutes apparently... once they're escorted back Yali tries to return to prime numbers but his hands are more interested in attacking his sister as a mock praying mantis at unexpected moments... “MAN-TIS!” he exclaims throwing both hands at her in prepared battle... “MAN-TIS!”...

As math concludes with studies on Area... Yali throws a highly misshapen square onto the open page with his pencil... “It looks like a BUTT!” he declares maybe a little too proudly...

It's afternoon and we've worked through about five more hours of books and taquitos and Cara Cara oranges and play therapy and squawking and screeching and singing too loudly and steak and bacon and the park and speech therapy...

Patience is sitting in a spread of crafts... clothespins and beads and charms and pom-poms and rhinestones and glitter all of them in all the colors preparing “grin pin” clips to share at February feises... while watching episodes of “Christy” and asking all the questions...

As we wind into evening Yali can be heard sneak attacking his sister from down the hall... “MAN-TIS!... MAN-TIS!”...