At 2pm today, the sentencing hearing for John Couey will commence. If you’re living under a rock, John Couey is the animal who took 9 year old Jessica Lunsford out of her bed in rural Citrus County, violated her, and buried her alive. His family members assisted him in covering it up. Death is too good for this man. I want to see him go to jail, because I know what ‘regular’ prisoners think of people who prey on children. A little jail house justice would be the best thing in this case.

Couey’s lawyer attempted to portray him as a childlike oaf during his trial by having John color in a coloring book, but the ploy didn’t work.

A 15 year old living in Germany (which explains the grammar) made this video about Jessica and 2 other little girls who were killed. Mark Lunsford, Jessica’s father, is the man pictured with long hair, crying. I can’t say enough about the strength he’s shown though all of this. Many people in Florida have asked him to run for public office and he turned them down. He’s an amazing person.

Speaking of back to school, some Algebra tutoring may be in our future. My daughter is in a super advanced math class that will be teaching her pre-Algebra skills - in the 6th grade! I didn’t take pre-Algebra until the 8th grade, and even then I didn’t do so hot, and ended up taking it again in 9th grade. I’m sure my daughter will fare better, but I let her know if she needs help, all she has to do is ask. I had a tutor who came to my house, but today there are tutoring services all over the place. One is Club Z! It’s the world’s largest one-on-one tutoring program, serving over 100,000 students. Definitely easier than trying to find a tutor for your child on your own, or trying to help your child with that new math!

And so it begins - another school year is upon us! I have a daughter entering middle school this year. I do not remember those years fondly, at all! I was telling her today how I had to walk to and from school when I was a bit older than she is now, in the heat. No sympathy from the kid. But it’s true - I walked to school, and home again, in the summer heat, and usually in long pants. Despite going to school in Florida and attending during the summer months, we weren’t allowed to wear shorts until I was in the 10th or 11th grade. It was miserable! My daughter is wearing jeans today, but she went from my air conditioned car into an air conditioned school. She’ll survive!

Morton Plant Mease has an excellent support group for parents of toddlers ages 12-24 months. It’s not just a support group, it’s a playgroup run by a certified parent coach. The kids play, you bond and get help from the other moms. There is a class fee of $8. The next class is being held on 4/23 at 10am, but new sessions start all of the time. For more information, contact Morton Plant at 727-462-7500 or visit the class schedule area of their website.

I sure could have used something like that when I was a new mom!