College. Many of us encourage our children to go to college. Many students are taking out debt, and finishing four years of school with a massive pile of debt that they will have to pay back.
There are some very important keys to getting a college education:
1) Make certain that you get a degree in a useful field. I am not certain where someone will become employed with a degree in some of the fields that are out there. Education, Nursing, Accounting, some STEM fields- yes, I do see where they will be employed. Do some research to make certain that there is demand in the field you wish to enter.
2) Not every field demands a college education. Let your child be honest with themselves. Plumbers earn better money than teachers, and they can enter a program through the Vocational Center in your local school system that will make them employable upon graduation.
3) You don't need a degree from an expensive school to succeed in life. An in-state school with a low tuition rate will give your child an excellent degree. Do your research! Check and find out what the employment rate is for graduates of the school. What is their retention rate?
4) Community colleges are a wonderful, smart, affordable way to begin higher education.
So, we have two children in college full time right now. Neither one has debt.
Both boys took multiple Advanced Placement classes in high school. They entered college as sophomores by credit. Oldest child was a junior by credit at the end of the first semester of college. We are fortunate, in that he has some very generous merit based scholarships. He is covering the difference between what his scholarships cover with money he has earned working on campus.
We have paid for two years of the Maryland Pre-Paid College trust for the youngest two children.
Middle child is in his second year of his plan. He has already found an internship, in his field. Not only is he setting aside money for next year's tuition, he is also getting real-world, on the job experience in his field that is just as valuable as his school education, and will help him land that first job when he graduates.
Youngest child is a Senior in high school this year. She has taken AP classes in the past, and she is taking more AP classes this year. However, she mixed things up a little bit. She is taking Dual Enrollment Classes at the Community College. For two periods a day, she is at our high school. For the second two periods, she is taking classes at the community college. These classes will transfer directly - as credit - when she begins college. She has plans to finish 12 credits of courses this year.
In our county, we pay $100/credit hour for the first 12 hours of credits at the community college. That's a bargain, in my book.
Some counties cover the entire cost of coursework at the community college that students undertake. As long as they keep their average above a certain level (usually a 2.5) the school system will continue to cover the cost of the classes.
Yesterday, I heard of an innovative partnership I had never heard of before. Students who are entering high school, and meet grade and attendance guidelines may take Dual Enrollment classes at the high school beginning as Freshman. When these students graduate from high school, they will also graduate with an Associate's Degree. When I spoke with the librarian at this college, she mentioned to me that these highly motivated students are graduating with AA degrees in Nursing, Nutrition, Accounting, and have finished the first two years of Engineering programs.
Food for thought.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Moving Into College - Part 2
We moved our boys into school on Monday.
You know, you would think that with two children going to the same school, this would be easy.
I was wrong.
Our van went into the shop on Friday for an oil change and stayed in until Monday night with some serious issues that didn't get resolved until Monday afternoon when the parts came in.
So, that left us with a Honda Civic and two boys to move into school.
It was also the first day of school for daughter.
She is participating in dual enrollment at the Community College this year, and her day at the high school is finished at 11. She is expected to be off campus once her morning classes are finished.
Did I mention that we were down to one car?
Monday morning, bright and early, middle child packed up the Honda with his stuff. Husband drove, and middle child, daughter, and I all piled into the car, each of us with things on our laps.
We dropped daughter off at the high school.
Husband dropped me off at work.
Husband and son went to school. Son checked into his dorm. When they opened the trunk to unload the car, they found that he had loaded the trunk so tightly that his clothes popped out of the trunk and onto the ground. They were spring-loaded!! They picked everything up, tossed it all onto his bed, and husband went back home.
Thank the good lord our house is only an hour away from the school. Otherwise, we probably would have had to rent a moving van.
Husband picked up daughter from school. He went home, and oldest child proceeded to load his stuff into the Honda.
They stopped by work and picked me up, and we went to school. Oldest child checked into his dorm room while we unloaded the car. Gone are the days when I would lovingly help the kids unpack their stuff and set their rooms up. We tossed everything on top of the bed and left. He's 21. I think he's old enough to handle unpacking his own crap, and setting up his own room.
I then went to check out middle child's room, to make certain he had made some effort of unpacking. While there, I noticed something kind of cool. Even though the boys are in different dorms, they can see each others rooms. They are directly across the street from each other.
We decided we'd have one last meal - lunch- in the dining hall together. (Gotta love dining hall food. Decades after I finished college, I still have horrible flashbacks to "mystery meat" and "scrod".) Granted, their food is better, and they have more choices, but I still think I cook better than anything you can find in a dining hall.
We head back out to the car.... but wait.... what's this? Husband has lost the keys.
Great, search, search, and search. We finally find the keys in the grass on some random pathway. We arrived back home, too exhausted to think, and just sat and stared at each other for a while. Daughter rummaged through the freezer and put dinner together for us. It was a very quiet meal. Really, really quiet.
This week has been very bittersweet. I tell you, I am emotionally wiped out. Daughter is starting her last year of high school. Oldest child is starting his last year of college. She's looking at colleges all over the country. He's looking at Graduate Schools all over the country. My nest is going to be very empty next year. I'm thrilled that they are all flourishing, but I am also missing my nest, and my wonderful little kids. This is going to be a tough year.
You know, you would think that with two children going to the same school, this would be easy.
I was wrong.
Our van went into the shop on Friday for an oil change and stayed in until Monday night with some serious issues that didn't get resolved until Monday afternoon when the parts came in.
So, that left us with a Honda Civic and two boys to move into school.
It was also the first day of school for daughter.
She is participating in dual enrollment at the Community College this year, and her day at the high school is finished at 11. She is expected to be off campus once her morning classes are finished.
Did I mention that we were down to one car?
Monday morning, bright and early, middle child packed up the Honda with his stuff. Husband drove, and middle child, daughter, and I all piled into the car, each of us with things on our laps.
We dropped daughter off at the high school.
Husband dropped me off at work.
Husband and son went to school. Son checked into his dorm. When they opened the trunk to unload the car, they found that he had loaded the trunk so tightly that his clothes popped out of the trunk and onto the ground. They were spring-loaded!! They picked everything up, tossed it all onto his bed, and husband went back home.
Thank the good lord our house is only an hour away from the school. Otherwise, we probably would have had to rent a moving van.
Husband picked up daughter from school. He went home, and oldest child proceeded to load his stuff into the Honda.
They stopped by work and picked me up, and we went to school. Oldest child checked into his dorm room while we unloaded the car. Gone are the days when I would lovingly help the kids unpack their stuff and set their rooms up. We tossed everything on top of the bed and left. He's 21. I think he's old enough to handle unpacking his own crap, and setting up his own room.
I then went to check out middle child's room, to make certain he had made some effort of unpacking. While there, I noticed something kind of cool. Even though the boys are in different dorms, they can see each others rooms. They are directly across the street from each other.
We decided we'd have one last meal - lunch- in the dining hall together. (Gotta love dining hall food. Decades after I finished college, I still have horrible flashbacks to "mystery meat" and "scrod".) Granted, their food is better, and they have more choices, but I still think I cook better than anything you can find in a dining hall.
We head back out to the car.... but wait.... what's this? Husband has lost the keys.
Great, search, search, and search. We finally find the keys in the grass on some random pathway. We arrived back home, too exhausted to think, and just sat and stared at each other for a while. Daughter rummaged through the freezer and put dinner together for us. It was a very quiet meal. Really, really quiet.
This week has been very bittersweet. I tell you, I am emotionally wiped out. Daughter is starting her last year of high school. Oldest child is starting his last year of college. She's looking at colleges all over the country. He's looking at Graduate Schools all over the country. My nest is going to be very empty next year. I'm thrilled that they are all flourishing, but I am also missing my nest, and my wonderful little kids. This is going to be a tough year.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Move In Day
My young friend Crystal began college last week.
She originally told her parents that move-in date for her was Tuesday, August 19.
On Thursday, August 14, she told her parents "Oops, I made a mistake. My move in date is tomorrow."
I'm not sure how you mix up 19 and 15, but hey, she's a college Freshman. What do I know?
Both of her parents scrambled to call into work, rearrange time off, reschedule a meeting, and one of them spent the night working on a project that was due Friday afternoon. It was mostly finished, but it needed to be tweaked before it was turned in, so they tweaked it, and sent it into the boss a little before midnight on Thursday.
Did I mention that Crystal had yet to begin packing?
And that her school is in downtown Manhattan?
And her parents didn't have hotel reservations for Friday night?
What could possibly go wrong?
Friday morning found Crystal frantically shoving random items into boxes and lugging them out to the truck.
Her parents were on the internet, frantically searching for a hotel to spend the night.
The parents lucked out. They found a hotel, 2 blocks from school at an unbelievable bargain.
By 9 am, they were ready to go. Move in time was scheduled for noon-3 pm.
Unfortunately, Crystal was not.
You know, at the best of times, it takes close to five hours to get from our neighborhood up to New York City.
At 10 am, Crystal finally shoved the last of her boxes into the car. Dad asked one last time: "Are you sure you have everything you need? Your laptop?"
Crystal replied "Of course I have everything I need Dad... stop asking me".
So, the family hit the road, hoping to get to the dorms before they opened the street by the dorm back up to traffic at 3.
Luck was not with Crystal's family on Friday.
They pulled into Manhattan at 4, and finally made it to her dorm a little before 5.
Parking was non-existent.
So, her mother, being an intrepid urban archeologist who fears no one, and obeys no parking sign, anywhere, pulled up onto the curb in front of the dorm, opened up the back of the truck, and literally shoved everything out of the back and onto the sidewalk while Crystal checked into her dorm. A bemused security guard stood close at hand, laughing at the parents while they threw everything on the sidewalk as fast as they could. Crystal's mom asked "So, what do you think she forgot, her laptop?"
Her father just laughed.
Dad stood guard over her stuff while Mom went to find the hotel and park the car.
20 minutes later, Mom had the car parked at the hotel had checked in, and was back at the front door to the dorm.
In the intervening time, Crystal had managed to check in to her dorm and hauled her stuff up to her room. Crystal's dad was outside, enjoying a cup of coffee with the security guard and telling him the tale of their sudden change of plans.
A very harried Crystal came storming downstairs about this time, all in a flit and a flutter.
"I forgot my laptop! Dad, what am I going to do? I forgot my laptop! I left it at home on the kitchen table!"
The security guard burst out laughing as Dad opened his backpack, pulled out her laptop, and said in a perfect imitation of Crystal: "Of course I have everything I need Dad... stop asking me..."
She originally told her parents that move-in date for her was Tuesday, August 19.
On Thursday, August 14, she told her parents "Oops, I made a mistake. My move in date is tomorrow."
I'm not sure how you mix up 19 and 15, but hey, she's a college Freshman. What do I know?
Both of her parents scrambled to call into work, rearrange time off, reschedule a meeting, and one of them spent the night working on a project that was due Friday afternoon. It was mostly finished, but it needed to be tweaked before it was turned in, so they tweaked it, and sent it into the boss a little before midnight on Thursday.
Did I mention that Crystal had yet to begin packing?
And that her school is in downtown Manhattan?
And her parents didn't have hotel reservations for Friday night?
What could possibly go wrong?
Friday morning found Crystal frantically shoving random items into boxes and lugging them out to the truck.
Her parents were on the internet, frantically searching for a hotel to spend the night.
The parents lucked out. They found a hotel, 2 blocks from school at an unbelievable bargain.
By 9 am, they were ready to go. Move in time was scheduled for noon-3 pm.
Unfortunately, Crystal was not.
You know, at the best of times, it takes close to five hours to get from our neighborhood up to New York City.
At 10 am, Crystal finally shoved the last of her boxes into the car. Dad asked one last time: "Are you sure you have everything you need? Your laptop?"
Crystal replied "Of course I have everything I need Dad... stop asking me".
So, the family hit the road, hoping to get to the dorms before they opened the street by the dorm back up to traffic at 3.
Luck was not with Crystal's family on Friday.
They pulled into Manhattan at 4, and finally made it to her dorm a little before 5.
Parking was non-existent.
So, her mother, being an intrepid urban archeologist who fears no one, and obeys no parking sign, anywhere, pulled up onto the curb in front of the dorm, opened up the back of the truck, and literally shoved everything out of the back and onto the sidewalk while Crystal checked into her dorm. A bemused security guard stood close at hand, laughing at the parents while they threw everything on the sidewalk as fast as they could. Crystal's mom asked "So, what do you think she forgot, her laptop?"
Her father just laughed.
Dad stood guard over her stuff while Mom went to find the hotel and park the car.
20 minutes later, Mom had the car parked at the hotel had checked in, and was back at the front door to the dorm.
In the intervening time, Crystal had managed to check in to her dorm and hauled her stuff up to her room. Crystal's dad was outside, enjoying a cup of coffee with the security guard and telling him the tale of their sudden change of plans.
A very harried Crystal came storming downstairs about this time, all in a flit and a flutter.
"I forgot my laptop! Dad, what am I going to do? I forgot my laptop! I left it at home on the kitchen table!"
The security guard burst out laughing as Dad opened his backpack, pulled out her laptop, and said in a perfect imitation of Crystal: "Of course I have everything I need Dad... stop asking me..."
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Whole Foods Photos
I needed to share these, but I also needed to recharge my phone in order to get to them!
Just look at that architecture! This pattern was repeated throughout the store.
Look at the parking lot! We parked at the mall and walked across the street. So glad we did!
The roofline if the building. I couldn't get a good photo of the front of the store - too many people!
Look at all that light and open space! The windows overlook the lake.
Coffee!!!
Whole Foods
We had a new Whole Foods store open up near us, down in Columbia this past week. Middle son is working across the street from the store, and since I have been driving him to and from work, I decided I would stop by on opening day to see what the store looks like.
First of all, I do need to say how much I love and appreciate the fact that Whole Foods will move into an existing building and retro fit their building to meet the needs of the building. The whole foods at Mount Washington is built inside of an old textile mill along the Jones Falls.
This location was designed by Frank Gehry and was, for many years, the headquarters for the Rouse Corporation. In the last decade, the Rouse corporation was sold to another developer, and they left the Columbia building and moved elsewhere.
Whole Foods is now in this gorgeous piece of architecture. Lovely, beautiful, airy building. If you're not familiar with Frank Gehry's work, take a look at this website to see some of what he has designed over the years: http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ig/Buildings-by-Frank-Gehry/. When I first began working in the library world, I worked in a library that had been designed by him. I loved that building!
The building itself is marvelous, the store is amazing. It is a very large store, with many more offerings than I had seen in their other locations. The windows overlooking the lake add a certain something to the store. The store does have a certain advantage in that it is located directly on the Columbia waterfront. They have added a seating/dining area for patrons overlooking the waterfront and out on the balcony over the lake.
Whole Foods is known for their environmentally friendly approach to food, and prides itself on the goodness of their food, as well as the organic nature of much of their food, their energy saving measures in store, etc.
And yet... when I was walking through the parking lot this week, I was struck by the number of giant SUV's, each filled with one person, rushing to be at the front of the line for a free tote bag. Yep, giant gas guzzling SUV's, everywhere you looked, even in the spot reserved for electric cars, with the electric charging station. My poor little Honda Civic was lost in that lot full of monster cars.
First of all, I do need to say how much I love and appreciate the fact that Whole Foods will move into an existing building and retro fit their building to meet the needs of the building. The whole foods at Mount Washington is built inside of an old textile mill along the Jones Falls.
This location was designed by Frank Gehry and was, for many years, the headquarters for the Rouse Corporation. In the last decade, the Rouse corporation was sold to another developer, and they left the Columbia building and moved elsewhere.
Whole Foods is now in this gorgeous piece of architecture. Lovely, beautiful, airy building. If you're not familiar with Frank Gehry's work, take a look at this website to see some of what he has designed over the years: http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ig/Buildings-by-Frank-Gehry/. When I first began working in the library world, I worked in a library that had been designed by him. I loved that building!
The building itself is marvelous, the store is amazing. It is a very large store, with many more offerings than I had seen in their other locations. The windows overlooking the lake add a certain something to the store. The store does have a certain advantage in that it is located directly on the Columbia waterfront. They have added a seating/dining area for patrons overlooking the waterfront and out on the balcony over the lake.
Whole Foods is known for their environmentally friendly approach to food, and prides itself on the goodness of their food, as well as the organic nature of much of their food, their energy saving measures in store, etc.
And yet... when I was walking through the parking lot this week, I was struck by the number of giant SUV's, each filled with one person, rushing to be at the front of the line for a free tote bag. Yep, giant gas guzzling SUV's, everywhere you looked, even in the spot reserved for electric cars, with the electric charging station. My poor little Honda Civic was lost in that lot full of monster cars.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Driver's Test, Take 2
Tuesday brought another trip to a far away place for a driver's test. This time, we ended up going well north of Baltimore. It was about 90 minutes one way... and the lines were long, long, long. I believe that every family of 17 year olds in the State of Maryland has attempted to get their kids licensed this week.
Parallel parking had been daughter's fail on Monday. We spend Monday night and Tuesday morning practicing parallel parking. Tuesday morning, she was so frustrated that she ended up in tears in the parking lot, telling me that it would be easier for her to ride her bicycle the 25 miles up and back to the community college each day.
Our appointment was at 2:30, and it can take over 90 minutes to get to our destination. I always leave time to get lost if I'm going to an unfamiliar place, so we left at noon.
(Guess what? Even with the GPS, we did get lost. How I can manage to do that consistently is beyond my own understanding.)
We got to the testing facility an hour early. We sat in the parking lot and watched several other people navigate the course, and we talked through the finer points of the course. I then took daughter back out on the road, and had her drive through the neighborhoods around the MVA office.
At this point, she was so scared, she couldn't remember her right from her left. Seriously.
SO, I did what I used to do when I taught preschool. Actually, it was a little different. When I taught preschool, I used to put a red dot on the kids right hands on Fridays so that we could have Hokie Pokie Day. Tuesday, I pulled a band-aid out of the trunk, and put it on her left index finger, so she would remember left...
We began our 2:30 test at 2:45.
I stood outside and watched while the tester ran her through the course. I was hiding behind a bush (along with someone's grandmother) because we wanted to watch, but we didn't want to freak our kids out by standing where they could see us and see the look of horror on our faces. I had to turn away when she was parallel parking. I saw her make one attempt, and then pull back out and start again, and then I watched her attempt to "finagle" herself into a spot. THAT's when I had to turn away. The grandmother next to me tapped me on the shoulder as soon as she'd parked and said "LOOK MOM!!! She did it!" I then held my breath as she navigated the rest of the course and saw them take off on the road portion of the test.
She came back with a triumphant gleam in her eye! As soon as she got out of the car, she stood up, gave me two thumbs up, and I could see her smile all the way across the parking lot!
WAIT....
This means that the scary part is now beginning. She can drive on her own now.
Talk about some mixed emotions!
Parallel parking had been daughter's fail on Monday. We spend Monday night and Tuesday morning practicing parallel parking. Tuesday morning, she was so frustrated that she ended up in tears in the parking lot, telling me that it would be easier for her to ride her bicycle the 25 miles up and back to the community college each day.
Our appointment was at 2:30, and it can take over 90 minutes to get to our destination. I always leave time to get lost if I'm going to an unfamiliar place, so we left at noon.
(Guess what? Even with the GPS, we did get lost. How I can manage to do that consistently is beyond my own understanding.)
We got to the testing facility an hour early. We sat in the parking lot and watched several other people navigate the course, and we talked through the finer points of the course. I then took daughter back out on the road, and had her drive through the neighborhoods around the MVA office.
At this point, she was so scared, she couldn't remember her right from her left. Seriously.
SO, I did what I used to do when I taught preschool. Actually, it was a little different. When I taught preschool, I used to put a red dot on the kids right hands on Fridays so that we could have Hokie Pokie Day. Tuesday, I pulled a band-aid out of the trunk, and put it on her left index finger, so she would remember left...
We began our 2:30 test at 2:45.
I stood outside and watched while the tester ran her through the course. I was hiding behind a bush (along with someone's grandmother) because we wanted to watch, but we didn't want to freak our kids out by standing where they could see us and see the look of horror on our faces. I had to turn away when she was parallel parking. I saw her make one attempt, and then pull back out and start again, and then I watched her attempt to "finagle" herself into a spot. THAT's when I had to turn away. The grandmother next to me tapped me on the shoulder as soon as she'd parked and said "LOOK MOM!!! She did it!" I then held my breath as she navigated the rest of the course and saw them take off on the road portion of the test.
She came back with a triumphant gleam in her eye! As soon as she got out of the car, she stood up, gave me two thumbs up, and I could see her smile all the way across the parking lot!
WAIT....
This means that the scary part is now beginning. She can drive on her own now.
Talk about some mixed emotions!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Driver's Test, part 1
Daughter took her driver's test today- the behind the wheel driving skills test that will grant her a provisional license and allow her to drive back and forth to school and the community college by herself.
All did not go well.
Yesterday, when we were practicing parallel parking, I could tell all was not well. She was too rattled, and she was overthinking it.
Parallel parking is equal parts technical skill and instinct. You have to know the "feel" of your car well enough to be able to tell where in the space you are, and when you should turn the wheel.
Daughter wants hard and fast rules.
Unfortunately, parallel parking doesn't always work that way. When you are driving a small car, being able to tell where the front and back corners of the car are located can be difficult. I can honestly say, I have only ever driven Honda Civics. I bought my first Civic in 1989. This is my second Civic. I know exactly where the corners are on my car, and I know it's turning radius, and I know how it handles in every kind of weather.
Middle child went out with daughter yesterday. I stood in the parking lot while he attempted to talk her through parking. She had mixed success, and I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that all would not go well today.
So, we hauled ourselves out to Frederick County for her test.
She navigated the first turn of the course, got to the parallel parking section, and promptly wigged out. She actually did get the car parked correctly (after 3 tries), but when she went to pull out from the spot, she didn't pull the car hard enough to the left and hit the cones. And that was the end of the test.
Unfortunately, in Maryland, you have to register online for a driver's skills test, and our registration times are long. The first glance at the registration page showed the FIRST open testing time on Oct. 6.
WHAT??? That's over a month away! I work in the mornings, daughter has to get herself from the high school up to the community college....
I began to hyperventilate as I considered the ramifications and attempted to figure out HOW we were going to make this happen.
And then, a little bit of magic happened.
I went back into the registration page, searched again, and found a testing location and time for tomorrow afternoon. TOMORROW!! I promptly signed her up.
We went out again this afternoon to practice parallel parking some more.
After a very frustrating crying jag and a little bit of screaming, she finally managed to hear what I was telling her. "You know, when you pause and start to turn, or ask if it's far enough back, I tell you go back a scootch more? Line yourself up like you are right now, and then scootch back one." (a scootch being defined as pick your foot up off the brake for a second and then putting it back down again.)
Somehow, those were the magic words. She did it right the first time!
And then she did it again.
And again.
And again
And again.
And then we stopped for the afternoon.
So, tomorrow afternoon we will be attempting to take the test again.
If you could, would you send some calming thoughts and energy our way around 2:30?
All did not go well.
Yesterday, when we were practicing parallel parking, I could tell all was not well. She was too rattled, and she was overthinking it.
Parallel parking is equal parts technical skill and instinct. You have to know the "feel" of your car well enough to be able to tell where in the space you are, and when you should turn the wheel.
Daughter wants hard and fast rules.
Unfortunately, parallel parking doesn't always work that way. When you are driving a small car, being able to tell where the front and back corners of the car are located can be difficult. I can honestly say, I have only ever driven Honda Civics. I bought my first Civic in 1989. This is my second Civic. I know exactly where the corners are on my car, and I know it's turning radius, and I know how it handles in every kind of weather.
Middle child went out with daughter yesterday. I stood in the parking lot while he attempted to talk her through parking. She had mixed success, and I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that all would not go well today.
So, we hauled ourselves out to Frederick County for her test.
She navigated the first turn of the course, got to the parallel parking section, and promptly wigged out. She actually did get the car parked correctly (after 3 tries), but when she went to pull out from the spot, she didn't pull the car hard enough to the left and hit the cones. And that was the end of the test.
Unfortunately, in Maryland, you have to register online for a driver's skills test, and our registration times are long. The first glance at the registration page showed the FIRST open testing time on Oct. 6.
WHAT??? That's over a month away! I work in the mornings, daughter has to get herself from the high school up to the community college....
I began to hyperventilate as I considered the ramifications and attempted to figure out HOW we were going to make this happen.
And then, a little bit of magic happened.
I went back into the registration page, searched again, and found a testing location and time for tomorrow afternoon. TOMORROW!! I promptly signed her up.
We went out again this afternoon to practice parallel parking some more.
After a very frustrating crying jag and a little bit of screaming, she finally managed to hear what I was telling her. "You know, when you pause and start to turn, or ask if it's far enough back, I tell you go back a scootch more? Line yourself up like you are right now, and then scootch back one." (a scootch being defined as pick your foot up off the brake for a second and then putting it back down again.)
Somehow, those were the magic words. She did it right the first time!
And then she did it again.
And again.
And again
And again.
And then we stopped for the afternoon.
So, tomorrow afternoon we will be attempting to take the test again.
If you could, would you send some calming thoughts and energy our way around 2:30?
Friday, August 15, 2014
Bats in the Belfrey
I wish I had pictures to share. I really, really do. Unfortunately, as this story unrolled, I ended up dropping the camera, and running away screaming. Since the husband had the hose on and there were bats everywhere - well... at least the camera wasn't toast, but I also didn't want to get any closer.
We live in a brick rancher. Do you know those roof vents over the ends of the house? We have three of them. One over the carport, and two over the "T" at the other end of the house.
The vents are screened on the inside to keep out birds and other beasties.
I park on the pad next to the carport.
This time last week, as I was getting out of the car, I looked down at the ground and saw lots of tiny little black things. They looked like hamster pellets, in a way. There were tons of these things. I ended up backing up my car so that I wouldn't walk through it and track stuff through the house.
Bravely, I looked up into the vent and saw lots and lots of little black things.
Bats. The stuff on the ground (and all over the siding) was bat guano. Not a good thing.
When husband got home, I mentioned it to him. He got the ladder out, got close enough to look inside and said one word "bats". He climbed up into the attic to verify that there were no bats inside of the attic.
After he changed clothes, he went to Home Depot and picked up some fiberglass netting.
He came home, and began spraying water from the garden hose on the parking pad and siding, attempting to get the guano off.
The bats really didn't like that. They left. Over 2 dozen of them flew out, all over everywhere.
Husband then decided that he would spray up into the vent in order to get any other bats out of the vents. A couple dozen more flew out.
Yeah, by this point, I was long gone. I actually took off once the bats started flying out.
Once he was certain no more bats were coming out, he climbed up onto the ladder, and measured the vent. He cut the fiberglass netting to fit over the vents. He used the staple gun to attach the netting on two sides. He has left the bottom open - so that it's an exclusion net. Just in case if any more bats were hanging out in there, they can get out, but not get back in.
Last night, he climbed back up the ladder with a flashlight to verify that all of the bats were gone.
He then stapled the bottom of the netting across the bottom of the vent.
We still have another vent that is loaded with bats. Absolutely full.
We have plans to put up a couple of bat houses on the property, before we work to get them out, so that they can have a new home to go roost in.
But where do these houses go? They like to be up high. We have an elm tree that's high, but that tree is sick and will have to come down within the next five years - so we don't want to put it there. And we really don't want them roosting inside of the house or the attic. With the amount of bats we have in this particular vent, if any more move in, it is possible that they could pop the screen out and take up residence in our attic. And that would be a bad thing.
Now, if we could just get the telephone company to come in and install a couple of poles for us in the back yard, I would know exactly where to put the houses!
We live in a brick rancher. Do you know those roof vents over the ends of the house? We have three of them. One over the carport, and two over the "T" at the other end of the house.
The vents are screened on the inside to keep out birds and other beasties.
I park on the pad next to the carport.
This time last week, as I was getting out of the car, I looked down at the ground and saw lots of tiny little black things. They looked like hamster pellets, in a way. There were tons of these things. I ended up backing up my car so that I wouldn't walk through it and track stuff through the house.
Bravely, I looked up into the vent and saw lots and lots of little black things.
Bats. The stuff on the ground (and all over the siding) was bat guano. Not a good thing.
When husband got home, I mentioned it to him. He got the ladder out, got close enough to look inside and said one word "bats". He climbed up into the attic to verify that there were no bats inside of the attic.
After he changed clothes, he went to Home Depot and picked up some fiberglass netting.
He came home, and began spraying water from the garden hose on the parking pad and siding, attempting to get the guano off.
The bats really didn't like that. They left. Over 2 dozen of them flew out, all over everywhere.
Husband then decided that he would spray up into the vent in order to get any other bats out of the vents. A couple dozen more flew out.
Yeah, by this point, I was long gone. I actually took off once the bats started flying out.
Once he was certain no more bats were coming out, he climbed up onto the ladder, and measured the vent. He cut the fiberglass netting to fit over the vents. He used the staple gun to attach the netting on two sides. He has left the bottom open - so that it's an exclusion net. Just in case if any more bats were hanging out in there, they can get out, but not get back in.
Last night, he climbed back up the ladder with a flashlight to verify that all of the bats were gone.
He then stapled the bottom of the netting across the bottom of the vent.
We still have another vent that is loaded with bats. Absolutely full.
We have plans to put up a couple of bat houses on the property, before we work to get them out, so that they can have a new home to go roost in.
But where do these houses go? They like to be up high. We have an elm tree that's high, but that tree is sick and will have to come down within the next five years - so we don't want to put it there. And we really don't want them roosting inside of the house or the attic. With the amount of bats we have in this particular vent, if any more move in, it is possible that they could pop the screen out and take up residence in our attic. And that would be a bad thing.
Now, if we could just get the telephone company to come in and install a couple of poles for us in the back yard, I would know exactly where to put the houses!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
The Most Selfish Act?
I've been struggling to find the words for dealing with the death of Robin Williams. On the one hand, the man was my hero. His love of life, his childlike enthusiasm, and his unbounded energy drew us all into his circle. A light has been forever extinguished from our world.
The man battled some demons. Powerful demons.
All of his life, he has struggled with mental illness. We have all sat on the sidelines, watching in horror as he would attempt to self-medicate his problems with drugs and alcohol. He even joked about his struggle in his comedy routine. Eventually, he would enter rehab, get clean, and attempt to live a normal life. He would succeed for long periods of time, and then something would happen and he would begin self-medicating again, attempting to control the demons that haunted him until he once again entered rehab. At the time of his death, Robin was in treatment for his depression.
I keep seeing posts on social media that say "Suicide is the Ultimate Selfish Act" and "Get Help. You're not alone", posted along with the numbers for the Suicide Prevention Hotline.
If things were only that simple.
As the mother of a child who struggles with depression, I can attest to the fact that it is not that simple.
Suicide is not a selfish act. The sufferer finds him/herself so ultimately plagued by the internal struggle that they can't see any other way out. Family can be totally unaware of the battle that is raging within until it is too late. People who struggle with depression are very good at "blending" - making everything appear normal so that nobody else is aware of what is going on inside.
Because of our society's blatant misunderstanding and marginalization of those who struggle, people are afraid to tell others what they are feeling - their own interior struggles. They fear being ostracized, fired, ignored, stigmatized, or shunned.
Mental illness is a chemical imbalance. Many people are not aware that our bodies are chemical factories. Everything from our blood cholesterol, to diabetes, to mental illness is regulated by the chemical factories within our own bodies. Sometimes, our chemical factories are deficient. It is not our fault - it is something that is beyond our personal control.
Get Help... You're Not Alone. Here's the other lie. Getting help is not easy. You can call the suicide prevention hotline. They will attempt to talk you out of your "bad" place, and help you get to the hospital. So, you find yourself (or your loved one) at the hospital. 72 hours later, you will find yourself released with a claim of being cured! I'm sorry - but 72 hours is not enough time to make certain that you are stable, and ready to be back on your own. You can find yourself back at home 72 hours later, with a pile of drugs, and the same demons are still haunting you.
Getting through depression, and helping to keep it under control demands in-depth work with a psychiatrist and a therapist. Not only will you be looking deep within yourself and finding ways to help deal with your demons, and finding strategies to help keep yourself stable, you will need to work with a psychiatrist who will be able to monitor your progress, and help you make adjustments to your meds as necessary.
Even then, setbacks will happen.
Speaking again here as a parent of a child who has struggled with depression, I can tell you that while we did find a therapist immediately, it took us 6 months to get into to see a psychiatrist who would be able to prescribe the meds and monitor progress. Six long months of constant worry on my part, where I would sit up all night outside of the bedroom doors, ensuring that nobody got up to hurt themselves. Six months of being there every single minute of the day. I would only sleep during the day, when school was in session. Even with my constant vigilance, we still had moments when I was afraid that it wouldn't be enough and that we would lose the battle.
When a person is in the middle of a deep depression, they often don't see that they can get help, or that the need is there. This is where family and friends come in. If you see someone that you love is struggling with a deep depression and don't seem to be coming out of it, you need to step in and help them seek help. Gently, and lovingly, but you must be the one to reach out to them. If you are fighting for the life of a loved one - YOU - are the one who needs to make the phone calls and find the help that is so desperately needed.
What are the signs of depression?
Serious, clinical depression is a fight for a life.
A single life.
Do you care enough to fight the battle for someone else?
The man battled some demons. Powerful demons.
All of his life, he has struggled with mental illness. We have all sat on the sidelines, watching in horror as he would attempt to self-medicate his problems with drugs and alcohol. He even joked about his struggle in his comedy routine. Eventually, he would enter rehab, get clean, and attempt to live a normal life. He would succeed for long periods of time, and then something would happen and he would begin self-medicating again, attempting to control the demons that haunted him until he once again entered rehab. At the time of his death, Robin was in treatment for his depression.
I keep seeing posts on social media that say "Suicide is the Ultimate Selfish Act" and "Get Help. You're not alone", posted along with the numbers for the Suicide Prevention Hotline.
If things were only that simple.
As the mother of a child who struggles with depression, I can attest to the fact that it is not that simple.
Suicide is not a selfish act. The sufferer finds him/herself so ultimately plagued by the internal struggle that they can't see any other way out. Family can be totally unaware of the battle that is raging within until it is too late. People who struggle with depression are very good at "blending" - making everything appear normal so that nobody else is aware of what is going on inside.
Because of our society's blatant misunderstanding and marginalization of those who struggle, people are afraid to tell others what they are feeling - their own interior struggles. They fear being ostracized, fired, ignored, stigmatized, or shunned.
Mental illness is a chemical imbalance. Many people are not aware that our bodies are chemical factories. Everything from our blood cholesterol, to diabetes, to mental illness is regulated by the chemical factories within our own bodies. Sometimes, our chemical factories are deficient. It is not our fault - it is something that is beyond our personal control.
Get Help... You're Not Alone. Here's the other lie. Getting help is not easy. You can call the suicide prevention hotline. They will attempt to talk you out of your "bad" place, and help you get to the hospital. So, you find yourself (or your loved one) at the hospital. 72 hours later, you will find yourself released with a claim of being cured! I'm sorry - but 72 hours is not enough time to make certain that you are stable, and ready to be back on your own. You can find yourself back at home 72 hours later, with a pile of drugs, and the same demons are still haunting you.
Getting through depression, and helping to keep it under control demands in-depth work with a psychiatrist and a therapist. Not only will you be looking deep within yourself and finding ways to help deal with your demons, and finding strategies to help keep yourself stable, you will need to work with a psychiatrist who will be able to monitor your progress, and help you make adjustments to your meds as necessary.
Even then, setbacks will happen.
Speaking again here as a parent of a child who has struggled with depression, I can tell you that while we did find a therapist immediately, it took us 6 months to get into to see a psychiatrist who would be able to prescribe the meds and monitor progress. Six long months of constant worry on my part, where I would sit up all night outside of the bedroom doors, ensuring that nobody got up to hurt themselves. Six months of being there every single minute of the day. I would only sleep during the day, when school was in session. Even with my constant vigilance, we still had moments when I was afraid that it wouldn't be enough and that we would lose the battle.
When a person is in the middle of a deep depression, they often don't see that they can get help, or that the need is there. This is where family and friends come in. If you see someone that you love is struggling with a deep depression and don't seem to be coming out of it, you need to step in and help them seek help. Gently, and lovingly, but you must be the one to reach out to them. If you are fighting for the life of a loved one - YOU - are the one who needs to make the phone calls and find the help that is so desperately needed.
What are the signs of depression?
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
- Fatigue and decreased energy
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
- Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
- Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
- Irritability, restlessness
- Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex
- Overeating or appetite loss
- Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
- Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings
- Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts
- A sudden switch from being very sad to being very calm or appearing to be happy
- Always talking or thinking about death
- Clinical depression (deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating) that gets worse
- Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death, such as driving through red lights
- Losing interest in things one used to care about
- Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless
- Putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will
- Saying things like "It would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"
- Talking about suicide (killing one's self)
- Visiting or calling people one cares about
Serious, clinical depression is a fight for a life.
A single life.
Do you care enough to fight the battle for someone else?
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Whoopsie.
Hypothetically speaking... have you ever accidentally paid a major bill a week before payday? You know, like a week before payday? You know, a huge one that requires the installation of a paycheck into the account before you pay it?
No, me neither.
Still speaking hypothetically here....
Daughter is taking concurrent enrollment classes at the Community College this year. She will be spending the first half of her day at the high school, and the second half of her day at the college. Our county requires us to pay a fee for these classes. So, for 2 college level classes, I am paying $600. For 6 credit hours of classes, I am paying $100 per credit hour. Not a bad deal. It's significantly less than I would be paying if she was enrolled full time in the school, or if she were at a 4 year institution.
As soon as our last payday rolled around, I went and wrote a check for her bill. Paid it in full. It put a crimp in our finances, but I had been expecting it, and had cut back on spending in July so about half came out of savings, and the other half came out of the last paycheck. Once you took out the mortgage, and the other bills, that left us with a little less than $500. More than enough for groceries for the first two weeks of the month, more than enough to pay cash for gas, and enough to go purchase her textbooks.
Now, in reality we pay our bills online. I can set payments up ahead of time, and our bills go out with very little trouble. We had a few issues for the first month after we went to electronic bill payment, but we have not had any issues since then.
Now, hypothetically speaking, let's say we had a bill that was due on the 18th, and our next pay date is the 15th. Let's pretend that I set the bill to "pay the full balance" which was around $600. Let's also say that I didn't pay very close attention to the "pay by" date and just hit submit. Let's also say that since I didn't set the date, the bill went out on Friday. LAST Friday - the 8th.
Yeah... have you seen the math here yet? $500, I went grocery shopping, we've put gas in the cars - twice - and then, a $600 payment comes rolling out of the account.
So, the bank pulls what we have left in checking and savings and the emergency savings account and pays the bill. THEN we get hit with an insufficient funds fee, and THEN we get hit with the transfer fee....
Saturday morning, I look at the checking account and realize that we are down to -$35. Yep, MINUS money. Savings and emergency savings have been wiped clean. The bank has a mandatory balance in each savings account that we are not allowed to go below if we want to keep earning interest and not incur additional fees. So, yeah... no money.
Hubby and I pulled the loose coins out, took them to the bank Saturday morning, and lo and behold- we had $40. Our balance was now up to $5.
And then, we did what we were hoping not to do. We went ahead and cashed in the EE savings bonds that we had set aside for daughter's college. We had paid $600 for her tuition, and this is what the money was set aside for. These credits at the community college will transfer directly into college, with none of the question or uncertainty that you can get from the AP Scores. Her English 102 class will transfer as English 102. The Community College even took her AP Language Credit and gave her full credit for English 101. So, when she goes to college next year, she will be transferring in credit for English 101 and 102. Freshman English - DONE!! So, yes, this is the very purpose of those savings bonds.
Our checking account is now back where it should be.
Good thing, too, because 2 other checks that had been in the wind for over 2 months cleared yesterday. I'm really going to have to start writing "Void after 90 days" on my checks.
So, hypothetically speaking.... you should always check the PAY BY date on the electronic checking. And then double check it... just to make sure the money is going out when you think it should.
Good thing this is all hypothetical......
No, me neither.
Still speaking hypothetically here....
Daughter is taking concurrent enrollment classes at the Community College this year. She will be spending the first half of her day at the high school, and the second half of her day at the college. Our county requires us to pay a fee for these classes. So, for 2 college level classes, I am paying $600. For 6 credit hours of classes, I am paying $100 per credit hour. Not a bad deal. It's significantly less than I would be paying if she was enrolled full time in the school, or if she were at a 4 year institution.
As soon as our last payday rolled around, I went and wrote a check for her bill. Paid it in full. It put a crimp in our finances, but I had been expecting it, and had cut back on spending in July so about half came out of savings, and the other half came out of the last paycheck. Once you took out the mortgage, and the other bills, that left us with a little less than $500. More than enough for groceries for the first two weeks of the month, more than enough to pay cash for gas, and enough to go purchase her textbooks.
Now, in reality we pay our bills online. I can set payments up ahead of time, and our bills go out with very little trouble. We had a few issues for the first month after we went to electronic bill payment, but we have not had any issues since then.
Now, hypothetically speaking, let's say we had a bill that was due on the 18th, and our next pay date is the 15th. Let's pretend that I set the bill to "pay the full balance" which was around $600. Let's also say that I didn't pay very close attention to the "pay by" date and just hit submit. Let's also say that since I didn't set the date, the bill went out on Friday. LAST Friday - the 8th.
Yeah... have you seen the math here yet? $500, I went grocery shopping, we've put gas in the cars - twice - and then, a $600 payment comes rolling out of the account.
So, the bank pulls what we have left in checking and savings and the emergency savings account and pays the bill. THEN we get hit with an insufficient funds fee, and THEN we get hit with the transfer fee....
Saturday morning, I look at the checking account and realize that we are down to -$35. Yep, MINUS money. Savings and emergency savings have been wiped clean. The bank has a mandatory balance in each savings account that we are not allowed to go below if we want to keep earning interest and not incur additional fees. So, yeah... no money.
Hubby and I pulled the loose coins out, took them to the bank Saturday morning, and lo and behold- we had $40. Our balance was now up to $5.
And then, we did what we were hoping not to do. We went ahead and cashed in the EE savings bonds that we had set aside for daughter's college. We had paid $600 for her tuition, and this is what the money was set aside for. These credits at the community college will transfer directly into college, with none of the question or uncertainty that you can get from the AP Scores. Her English 102 class will transfer as English 102. The Community College even took her AP Language Credit and gave her full credit for English 101. So, when she goes to college next year, she will be transferring in credit for English 101 and 102. Freshman English - DONE!! So, yes, this is the very purpose of those savings bonds.
Our checking account is now back where it should be.
Good thing, too, because 2 other checks that had been in the wind for over 2 months cleared yesterday. I'm really going to have to start writing "Void after 90 days" on my checks.
So, hypothetically speaking.... you should always check the PAY BY date on the electronic checking. And then double check it... just to make sure the money is going out when you think it should.
Good thing this is all hypothetical......
Monday, August 11, 2014
Photo Journey
Daughter took a photography class in school last year. This year, she will be taking AP Photo. She had a series of photographs that had to be taken this summer, from pictures taken from a moving car to timed light exposures at night, she had about 14 separate assignments in all.
Throughout the month of July, we would take off somewhere on a Friday afternoon and go on a photo safari. I would sit and enjoy the location, while she crawled around on the ground, squatted, and almost fell into a water fountain at one point, searching for just the right angle, and just the right shot.
All of her pictures belong to her, so I'm not going to share them here. Copyright online can be a tricky thing. Just because I label the image as belonging to her doesn't mean that someone won't lift her image and claim it for their own.
And so, I bring to you: our photo safari, 2014
Old Towne Alexandria
Located on the Potomac Waterfront, Old Towne Alexandria is a beautiful city that dates back to Colonial Times. George Washington's Home, Mount Vernon, is located not that far down the river from here. The Torpedo Factory is a huge draw for many people. This abandoned torpedo factory was turned into a hub of artists studios back in the 1970's. If you are looking for art, this is the place to go and see! (Remember that statement I made about copyright? This is why I couldn't take any pictures within the Torpedo Factory to share. Artists are VERY picky about such things!)
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| We found this little cowboy boot sitting on a tree stump in the park down by the river. |
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| Beautiful, tree lined cobblestone streets. I always have loved Old Towne. |
National Harbor is relatively new on the scene in DC. Considering the age of the town, and the fact that National Harbor is less than 10 years old, it's still in it's infancy. Home to some great views of DC, National Harbor is located on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, just off of the Capital Beltway.
We spent a lot of time walking around the Harbor, explored the Gaylord Hotel, wandered in and out of little shops, and she took a lot of pictures. We saw a bridal party taking pictures, and we watched someone in a full Captain America costume attempt to paddle board on the edge of the Potomac. We had a fantastic dinner next to the river, and then headed back home once traffic died down.
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| The view from National Harbor to the Woodrow Wilson bridge. |
Annapolis
The State Capital of Maryland, located on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. I love Annapolis with a passion. Home to the Naval Academy and St. John's College, Annapolis is an intriguing mix of military town, college town, and legislative capital all wrapped up into a Colonial City... Did I mention I love Annapolis? The state legislative buildings are beautiful - and worth a tour to see. The art work in those buildings easily rivals that of the National Capital Building. I actually think the State House in Annapolis is a more beautiful building, to be honest. Down by the docks in Annapolis, you have wonderful stores, shopping, the city dock, and people - all kinds of people, young and old- roaming around. I spent a lot of time sitting on the dock, people watching while daughter attempted to get the "right" pictures.
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| We're up by the State House here, looking down to the water. You can just barely see the Bay down at the bottom of the hill. |
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| A view from the city dock. |
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| Had to share this... daughter's first ever attempt at a selfie. 17 years old and never taken a selfie before... Can you tell? That's her hair that you see against one of the pilings on the dock. |
Boonesboro
Out west of Frederick, in Maryland, there is a charming little town called Boonesboro. Why should you even know about this little town? Well, it is the home of the bookstore owned by Nora Roberts. If you call ahead, she'll sign books for you and leave them at the counter for you. She hosts book signings by authors, and writers workshops for teens and adults. The bookstore itself is a wonderful little place, full of her own books, books by other romance authors, best sellers, local authors, and books of local interest. If you didn't know, Boonesboro is located in the center of a lot of Civil War activity (it's not that far from Antietam/Sharpsburg).
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| Nora Robert's bookstore. Take note: not only do they occupy this store front, they occupy the store next to them, too. |
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| Another wonderful little spot! We didn't get a chance to stop in here, but I really, really wanted to! One stop shopping! |
Around Home...
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| The butterflies have Oriole's fever! This is the first Monarch I've seen in our yard! |
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| Storm clouds hover over the road. This storm spawned a couple of tornadoes East of us. |
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| Another year of camp comes to a close. |
Sunday, August 10, 2014
The Long Silence Has Ended
July is, and always has been, a very busy month for our family. No matter how much I vow I will keep up with the blog, I invariably manage to fall behind. Which leads me into August - and a Sunday afternoon blog post.
Over the past month, Middle Child worked at his summer camp, 2 hours away from home. His "weekend" was from Monday night to Wednesday morning. So, every Monday evening, I left home and headed up to the great wilderness north of Baltimore to pick him up. 2 hours back home, and then off I went to work the next morning. This year, husband took the Wednesday morning drop offs as my work schedule doesn't allow me to be off during the morning.
Daughter took a two week art camp in Baltimore. (More driving. Husband did drop off, I did pick up at 3:30). We visited 2 more colleges. One college was dropped from her list of possibilities, and another was added.
Oldest son is looking at graduate schools. He spent some time looking at schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He has one more school to look at in New Jersey. He is scheduled to take the GRE's in September. Hopefully, his score will be high enough that he will be able to get into the school of his choice. Just like daughter, his choice of school is dependent upon which school he has seen most recently.
I've been busy. The "new" job isn't quite so "new" anymore. After 4 months, I think we can call it a job. It's a wonderful challenge, and I really, really enjoy the students that I work with. They are all bright, curious, and full of enthusiasm. They have this passion that makes me feel as if they will be able to change the world! It's gratifying and oh, so very hopeful to see!
I celebrated another birthday last month. Instead of celebrating an anniversary of my 36th birthday this year, I decided that I would instead claim the age of 42. Ten points if you know WHY I chose 42!!!
Daughter will be taking her driver's test next week. July was full of lots of driving. LOTS of driving. She has driven all over the Baltimore area. I no longer feel as if I need one of those harnesses that race car drivers wear in order to protect them in the event of a crash. We've never run off of the road. At the beginning of July, I was consistently grabbing the steering wheel at least once a day to save us from running into a tree or a ditch. As time has gone on, I've grabbed the wheel less and less. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've had to grab the steering wheel. (And only one week since she stopped dead in the middle of a back road and honked at the birds to make them get out of her way. Kind of scary to realize that she lost a game of chicken to a house wren.)
Bats. I'll have to tell you about the bat situation later this week. That story will be a post in and of itself.
I'd also like to mention the baseball team based out of Baltimore. Take a look at their standings when you get a chance. I have seriously got to get to a game SOON!!
My last year of having a child in Public School begins in two weeks. Now that's a bitter sweet feeling! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about all of this... a lot of mixed emotions, that is certain.
I hope you are having a fantastic summer!
Over the past month, Middle Child worked at his summer camp, 2 hours away from home. His "weekend" was from Monday night to Wednesday morning. So, every Monday evening, I left home and headed up to the great wilderness north of Baltimore to pick him up. 2 hours back home, and then off I went to work the next morning. This year, husband took the Wednesday morning drop offs as my work schedule doesn't allow me to be off during the morning.
Daughter took a two week art camp in Baltimore. (More driving. Husband did drop off, I did pick up at 3:30). We visited 2 more colleges. One college was dropped from her list of possibilities, and another was added.
Oldest son is looking at graduate schools. He spent some time looking at schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He has one more school to look at in New Jersey. He is scheduled to take the GRE's in September. Hopefully, his score will be high enough that he will be able to get into the school of his choice. Just like daughter, his choice of school is dependent upon which school he has seen most recently.
I've been busy. The "new" job isn't quite so "new" anymore. After 4 months, I think we can call it a job. It's a wonderful challenge, and I really, really enjoy the students that I work with. They are all bright, curious, and full of enthusiasm. They have this passion that makes me feel as if they will be able to change the world! It's gratifying and oh, so very hopeful to see!
I celebrated another birthday last month. Instead of celebrating an anniversary of my 36th birthday this year, I decided that I would instead claim the age of 42. Ten points if you know WHY I chose 42!!!
Daughter will be taking her driver's test next week. July was full of lots of driving. LOTS of driving. She has driven all over the Baltimore area. I no longer feel as if I need one of those harnesses that race car drivers wear in order to protect them in the event of a crash. We've never run off of the road. At the beginning of July, I was consistently grabbing the steering wheel at least once a day to save us from running into a tree or a ditch. As time has gone on, I've grabbed the wheel less and less. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've had to grab the steering wheel. (And only one week since she stopped dead in the middle of a back road and honked at the birds to make them get out of her way. Kind of scary to realize that she lost a game of chicken to a house wren.)
Bats. I'll have to tell you about the bat situation later this week. That story will be a post in and of itself.
I'd also like to mention the baseball team based out of Baltimore. Take a look at their standings when you get a chance. I have seriously got to get to a game SOON!!
My last year of having a child in Public School begins in two weeks. Now that's a bitter sweet feeling! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about all of this... a lot of mixed emotions, that is certain.
I hope you are having a fantastic summer!
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