Our wonderful VNA RN Bonnie came out today for a visit. She was running a bit late so she stayed and had her lunch with her favorite patient. Bonnie had a wonderful ham and cheddar grilled panini on sourdough, Tucker had a milk free cupcake. Which is currently, the only thing that we can get him to eat.
After school, Spencer, had a routine appointment with the pediatrician. Spencer was so brave, while Tucker screamed "all done" the entire visit.
Since the thermometer finally broke 55, we stopped at Central Park so that the boys could get some fresh air. They had a blast! Tucker again screamed when we left, " outsidddeeee!!!" And then again between our car and the front door. Ugh!
One of the suggestions on how to practice spelling words is writing them in foam. This is brilliant! (FYI-my dad works for Gillette)
Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone who reads this blog. Your continued support of our family and your positive feedback regarding my writing has pushed me when times have been difficult. Writing daily has become a struggle over the last week. Several months ago I got laid off from my employer. Although it was scary to transition to a single paycheck house, we have lost something way more important, our wonderful medical insurance. Tucker has a supplement, however the rest of us do not. Our family out of pocket max is simply ridiculous. So as I am grateful that we had such wonderful medical insurance, I wish that we were able to continue it. With that said, I have come to a decision that I will never be in the situation that I am now. Out of work with only a high school diploma on my résumé. Therefore,
I am going back to school. These last few days I have been studying and taking the Accuplacer test. It tests your basic knowledge of Math and English up to 12th grade. Having not been in a classroom for over 20 years, I knew that I would test terribly in math. And I did, TERRIBLE!!! However, in English I surprisingly excelled. Well, that might not be the complete truth. The test is gradual, the more that you answer correctly, the further you get to go. So Tuesday, I was prompted to complete the essay portion. A 300-600 word essay on the most boring topic. Wednesday, I went back for my grade, a 5. Which means that I would have to retake a high school English class.
My response: "What, that cant be right?" Proctor: "I hear that a lot. How many words was it?"
Me:"363"
Proctor: "I bet that it wasn't long enough"
Me: "then you should change the requirements to make the essays longer."
Protor:"you can take it three times, do you want to take it again, you might get a better topic to write about?"
Me:"yes, please!"
My question, "Can deception be good and bad at the same time?"
I wrote my heart out, sighting examples, research data and interview findings. (All from made up characters, a teen named Spencer who drove his parents car over the lawn and hit a neighbors mailbox. A couple, Tucker and Isabella Johansen, were also in the study.) I signaled to the proctor, he printed my grade, as the assistant pulled the page off the printer I heard, "well, I'll be..unbelievable!" "I have never even seen anyone get an 8!" The male proctor, "an 8?! Well, you deserve a special pat on the back, I have only seen a handful of these in my 13 years working here, congratulations!" "Now take that home and hang it on your fridge!" Still in shock, and now feeling the rest of the class peering at me, "this is like getting 100, right?" Male proctor, "yes it is, which is remarkable, because there is no spell check, so your spelling and punctuation were perfect. I mean, who doesn't even miss a comma in a 600 word essay?" "Well, you don't!"
I could be seen for hours grinning ear to ear! So happy (and proud) that I have decided to take the road less traveled which is scary and so much more challenging. ;o)
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