I'm not dead yet!
Hello, friends.
It just occurred to me that I've been pretty radio-silent lately. Life is ... okay.
My son is back to school and is turning 14 soon. His school has disappointed me deeply regarding the help it provides. Their "Learning Department" has failed to provide assistance to him over the past 8 years in so many ways I get blinded by my anger when I let myself think about it. We pay out the nose for tutors. We could be doing that with public school. We had to pull him out of the language course because he needs the time for tutors. That we pay for. Above the 25K+ tuition. When they come asking for donations, they can suck an egg unless they can tell me they'll do better with other children in the future. They even suggested a school closer to home that as far as I can tell is even WORSE on what is offered for kids with learning disabilities.
Now some of my vitriol is reserved for myself, because every time they told me he was ADHD/Spectrum and that explained his problems, even though he had a 40 point IQ differential between spoken and written language, I swallowed it because they said he didn't have dyslexia. This summer, a new tester said what I'd worried about all along, that he has dyslexia, which IDEALLY we should have addressed AGES ago. It runs in my family. Strongly. ARRRG. They didn't say dysgraphia but I'm pretty sure he's got that too.
* bangs head on desk *
I want him to get what he needs. I have the money. He deserves the best that we can do for him. I am SO upset that people have been calling him lazy and disinterested when I've been telling them that it isn't the problem, that it is HARD for him in ways that aren't usual. My husband has been telling our son that he doesn't act like he cares or is motivated for years, which I've had discussions with him about before. It isn't TRUE. My son - the get of a PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MD who's practicing in one of the harder specialities - has started to seriously consider plumbing - not because he's got a passion for pipes or sanitation, but because we - the school and us as parents - have told him he's not going to be successful in academics. With an IQ of 128. Bloody crime.
Husband is on the edge of quitting his job, which is fine. Our son goes to school 40 minutes away, which is right near his hated job. I hope he quits, honestly. I'll admit that the idea of being the only breadwinner and source of healthcare for the family has me a bit anxious.
That said, I KNOW in my heart that he'll never sit on his laurels and do nothing. He will be doing something else in a trice.
Other people's drama have me worried about marriage. Yet another close friend who got married around when I did - a nice, rational, decent fellow - told her that he wants a divorce. Pretty much out of the blue. That'll be ... nearly all of my close friends divorced. What the hell.
Believe you me, my husband and I feel the same degree of worry over this trend. He outright asked me if I'm happy. He knows how shit my job can be sometimes. Unlike his own, my job is one I actually still like. I hate the paperwork and the hours, but I'm doing a lot of good for people. Also, I've been working full time this WHOLE time because I knew he wanted to quit and I wanted to be able to support our family. (The after big-talk sex was lovely.)
Food for thought:
There was a study that suggested that smiling more actually does things to your brain chemistry that make you feel happier. The study that looked at this had people put a pencil in their mouths for prescribed periods of time a day to mimic a smile without giving away the point of the study. Another project tried to replicate it, but it didn't work - but the conditions differed because there was a camera recording in the room. When they took away the camera, the results were as tested back in 1988. I think I'll try that.
Project updates:
Time Immemorial - At rest.
Time Immemorial Prequel - At rest.
Twelve Nights - At rest.
WAKE ME UP - last extra material chapter fully drafted. EEE. Almost done!
Beltane Fire - holding it's breath a moment while I work on WMU and SEKRIT SSHG Project.
SEKRIT SSHG PROJECT: I've got outlined almost fully, but now I've got to fill it in. It has to be turned in by Nov 1st, so I'll be back to Beltane by then at the latest.
After I've got WMU and SEKRIT done, I plan to turn my secondary attention to finishing Twelve Nights (I seem to work on two projects pretty well?). By the time those are finished I hope to be a good enough author to give Time Immemorial the skill it deserves.
There is a writing group that's gathering on the discord server I have recommended (Harry Potter FanFiction Collective - high concentration of SSHG shippers), if anyone is interested. I hear the nanowrimo website was "upgraded" and by that I mean, made essentially useless. What I loved about nano when I did it last... two years ago almost... was the writing group that came with it, and the excuse to set a goal and have people to celebrate with when I reached it. The scribes and scribbles group has promise to do just that. This link to the discord server is only good for 24 hours. So PM me if you want another. :)
Flu season is upon us and the vaccines aren't really here yet. @wheee.
Also, vaping is bad for you. (Is anyone terribly surprised?)
It just occurred to me that I've been pretty radio-silent lately. Life is ... okay.
My son is back to school and is turning 14 soon. His school has disappointed me deeply regarding the help it provides. Their "Learning Department" has failed to provide assistance to him over the past 8 years in so many ways I get blinded by my anger when I let myself think about it. We pay out the nose for tutors. We could be doing that with public school. We had to pull him out of the language course because he needs the time for tutors. That we pay for. Above the 25K+ tuition. When they come asking for donations, they can suck an egg unless they can tell me they'll do better with other children in the future. They even suggested a school closer to home that as far as I can tell is even WORSE on what is offered for kids with learning disabilities.
Now some of my vitriol is reserved for myself, because every time they told me he was ADHD/Spectrum and that explained his problems, even though he had a 40 point IQ differential between spoken and written language, I swallowed it because they said he didn't have dyslexia. This summer, a new tester said what I'd worried about all along, that he has dyslexia, which IDEALLY we should have addressed AGES ago. It runs in my family. Strongly. ARRRG. They didn't say dysgraphia but I'm pretty sure he's got that too.
* bangs head on desk *
I want him to get what he needs. I have the money. He deserves the best that we can do for him. I am SO upset that people have been calling him lazy and disinterested when I've been telling them that it isn't the problem, that it is HARD for him in ways that aren't usual. My husband has been telling our son that he doesn't act like he cares or is motivated for years, which I've had discussions with him about before. It isn't TRUE. My son - the get of a PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MD who's practicing in one of the harder specialities - has started to seriously consider plumbing - not because he's got a passion for pipes or sanitation, but because we - the school and us as parents - have told him he's not going to be successful in academics. With an IQ of 128. Bloody crime.
Husband is on the edge of quitting his job, which is fine. Our son goes to school 40 minutes away, which is right near his hated job. I hope he quits, honestly. I'll admit that the idea of being the only breadwinner and source of healthcare for the family has me a bit anxious.
That said, I KNOW in my heart that he'll never sit on his laurels and do nothing. He will be doing something else in a trice.
Other people's drama have me worried about marriage. Yet another close friend who got married around when I did - a nice, rational, decent fellow - told her that he wants a divorce. Pretty much out of the blue. That'll be ... nearly all of my close friends divorced. What the hell.
Believe you me, my husband and I feel the same degree of worry over this trend. He outright asked me if I'm happy. He knows how shit my job can be sometimes. Unlike his own, my job is one I actually still like. I hate the paperwork and the hours, but I'm doing a lot of good for people. Also, I've been working full time this WHOLE time because I knew he wanted to quit and I wanted to be able to support our family. (The after big-talk sex was lovely.)
Food for thought:
There was a study that suggested that smiling more actually does things to your brain chemistry that make you feel happier. The study that looked at this had people put a pencil in their mouths for prescribed periods of time a day to mimic a smile without giving away the point of the study. Another project tried to replicate it, but it didn't work - but the conditions differed because there was a camera recording in the room. When they took away the camera, the results were as tested back in 1988. I think I'll try that.
Project updates:
Time Immemorial - At rest.
Time Immemorial Prequel - At rest.
Twelve Nights - At rest.
WAKE ME UP - last extra material chapter fully drafted. EEE. Almost done!
Beltane Fire - holding it's breath a moment while I work on WMU and SEKRIT SSHG Project.
SEKRIT SSHG PROJECT: I've got outlined almost fully, but now I've got to fill it in. It has to be turned in by Nov 1st, so I'll be back to Beltane by then at the latest.
After I've got WMU and SEKRIT done, I plan to turn my secondary attention to finishing Twelve Nights (I seem to work on two projects pretty well?). By the time those are finished I hope to be a good enough author to give Time Immemorial the skill it deserves.
There is a writing group that's gathering on the discord server I have recommended (Harry Potter FanFiction Collective - high concentration of SSHG shippers), if anyone is interested. I hear the nanowrimo website was "upgraded" and by that I mean, made essentially useless. What I loved about nano when I did it last... two years ago almost... was the writing group that came with it, and the excuse to set a goal and have people to celebrate with when I reached it. The scribes and scribbles group has promise to do just that. This link to the discord server is only good for 24 hours. So PM me if you want another. :)
Flu season is upon us and the vaccines aren't really here yet. @wheee.
Also, vaping is bad for you. (Is anyone terribly surprised?)