Saturday, September 3, 2011

Of a Personal Nature

Just wanted to let everyone know what I am up to these days. =D

I am taking three classes this fall, including Physics (with Trig even!). This makes me very happy. I had not learned any trig or geometry until I learned it to teach to my home school students. I am thrilled that I am able to keep up in this class. I am working hard to earn another A, at least that's my goal. The other two classes, Intercultural Communications and Medical Terminology II are subjects that fascinate me. I am looking forward to knocking them out of the park.

I finished up the CNA course work and clinical trials. I take the state exam on September 29th, for all who pray for me. I would appreciate your prayers. Normally the test is supposed to take place within two weeks of the end of course work, but due to a scheduling error I am taking it over a month later. I need to remember every detail to pass the test. I plan to review like all get out, but prayers on my behalf will no doubt help too. :)

Other than the above, I will have met all the requirements to apply for the 21-month course of training I need to pursue the career I want. I am competing with hundreds of other applicants for a mere fifteen spots. I am giving it my all. The application deadline is January 31st, and I will know the middle of February if I make it.

I am still in EMDR therapy and I still highly recommend it. Nuff said there.

My husband is still in therapy and on anti-depressants. While he has struggled with bouts of worsened depression since we visited his parents at the end of July, it has been nowhere near as bad for me as life got last March. The worst was two weeks ago, which I published on this blog and then removed again. I put it back up just now. I am happy to say that he fully admitted his fault and admitted that what was really going on was a worsening of his depression since visiting his folks again. Things did not continue to build up after that admission. Merely coming out of denial was a benefit, and while he still struggles with feelings of shame and abandonment, he isn't blaming me. Progress.

My daughter is a senior in college this year, and next year the Air Force will spirit her away. I plan to make the very most of the time left with her so close.

My son is back from the Caribbean. His secular mission trip renewed his interest in becoming a doctor. He is applying for scholarships and colleges now. He does have one gap in his education that needs filled: I can not get the kid to write a killer essay. I was able to teach my daughter, and I can write a quality paper myself. But I just can't get the kid out of the middle of the pack on this one. Pray that we will find a solution soon, as he is a senior in high school. (Personally, I blame facebook, twitter, reddit, etc. for teaching his brain to think in short, incomplete thoughts. *sigh*)

So, there you have it. Thank you for sticking with me, dear readers. Your support means so much to me.

7 comments:

  1. ps I wrote that I "can't get him out of the middle of the pack", meaning that he scored seven out of twelve points on his ACT essay, and either six or seven out of twelve on his SAT essay (I don't have the paperwork here). He can write complete sentences, just to clarify. What he lacks is the skill to elaborate on supporting details sufficiently, and (much to my dismay) organize his thoughts as coherently as I believe they need to be to communicate effectively.

    *sigh* I'd bring in a tutor if I could find one...

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  2. video essays. It worked for Legally Blonde!

    no, seriously. Can he support his arguments orally? Try Dragon Dictation (free app for phones, maybe online, $99 for the whole software package). I'm trying the freebie with my dyslexic daughter to get those words that I know are in her head to get unstuck enough to get onto paper. It is at least a good first draft.

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  3. Or any of those myriad graphic organizer things? for organizing thoughts and ideas that don't lend themselves (or the thinker isn't comfortable with) traditional outline format.

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  4. Thanks for your ideas! I've tried http://www.theeasyessay.com/?pg=mini
    With limited success. I think I have still failed to get across the importance of writing to college success. 'Cause everything he deems important enough, he works at until he masters. But Dragon Dictation could help tremendously. He loves his teen toastmasters club!

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  5. Yay! Dragon Dictation is free for his iPod Touch! We will start from there. This is an excellent idea, Sandra. Thanks so much for the tip. n_n

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  6. I don't think trigonometry makes any sense until you learn physics. It's just this arbitrary set of rules and definitions. It wasn't until I spent several weeks breaking up forces into parallel and perpendicular parts that I really got a sense of trigonometry as being rock-solid truth. That I got a sense of it as being real and not something just made up in the math books. II hope you are having some similarly thrilling and enlightening experiences in your own first exposure to physics.

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