January 25, 2008

Yesterday was a stressful day and I was exhausted. But today has been better. School is out and I look forward to the weekend, but I have grade cards to take home and work on. I had someone ask me about my screen name, Shatzie. Schatzi is the German name for darling, and is sometimes translated as sweetheart, although there is another word for that. Years ago we had a German Shepherd Dog and we named her Shatzie, because she was born the day after Valentine's Day, 'American-izing' the spelling. My daughter read some books a year or two ago where the main character, a teenage girl, called her mother mutti, which is German for mom or mommy. So my daughter began calling me mutti and then schatzi mutti, but she spells it Shatzie because it is 'cuter'. I have always had a fascination with the German language, and wanted to learn to speak it, but never did. I had a friend growing up whose Jewish grandparents escaped Germany with their baby (his mother) and the clothes on their back. Now his uncle is one of the richest people in our state and he is an actor who has appeared in movies with Tom Cruise and George Clooney. Because of their stories, I was inspired to read a great deal about the Holocaust in high school and college. I have 9 days until I leave for Houston. As I filled out the papers that were faxed to me from Dr. Appel's office, my stomach sank as I read the title at the top of the form 'ALS Questionaire'. It still seems surreal to think that my neurologist actually thinks I have ALS. It's one thing to wonder if you have it yourself, it was weird to hear him say it at my last appointment, but even stranger to see it in print.