Monday, May 28, 2012
hmmm...
wow, I suck at posting...
I graduated with two degrees last week.
bah. I need to not procrastinate. I'll start not procrastinating tomorrow, or sometime...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Second Semester begun...
Well, I started my second semester yesterday and have attended one session each of the six classes I am taking. I think they will all go well. So, it looks like it will be a good semester.
Still working on getting my step-son into after-care, that will ease up our schedules significantly and be so good for him as well. He will get more routine that he craves so much and get a far higher level of activity and interaction than we can provide for him at home.
My step-daughter has decided she likes karate enough after the four trial classes that she would like to continue. Still a little worried about how hard I am gonna get hit in the wallet for that one. She does need the activity as much as anyone though, she "bored" far too often.
The wife appears to be doing ok right now, though it is pretty hard to judge accurately most of the time. She is still exhausted too much of the time, the doc is holding back on giving her a stimulant though, he's not sure how it will interact with the other meds and wants to try and get those worked out first I guess. She is a trooper though and is pushing hard most days to keep on movin'.
-Joe
Still working on getting my step-son into after-care, that will ease up our schedules significantly and be so good for him as well. He will get more routine that he craves so much and get a far higher level of activity and interaction than we can provide for him at home.
My step-daughter has decided she likes karate enough after the four trial classes that she would like to continue. Still a little worried about how hard I am gonna get hit in the wallet for that one. She does need the activity as much as anyone though, she "bored" far too often.
The wife appears to be doing ok right now, though it is pretty hard to judge accurately most of the time. She is still exhausted too much of the time, the doc is holding back on giving her a stimulant though, he's not sure how it will interact with the other meds and wants to try and get those worked out first I guess. She is a trooper though and is pushing hard most days to keep on movin'.
-Joe
Friday, January 14, 2011
Work Study approved :)
While attending classes, I am allowed by the school to get up to 20 hours of work, at the school, for minimum wage. Depending on where I work, some of it may be credited towards my degree. There are two kinds of work, the first is an Aide which is essentially just a part-time job, the second is work-study where Financial Aid pays the department I work in up to a specified number of hours (no more than 10 in my case).
I already have an Aide position at the IT Help Desk for 16 hours a week (which may change depending on another Aides schedule that they are still waiting on) but needed to fill up that last 4 hours. So, I took my work-study paperwork to the Conservation department and asked if there were 4 hours available doing anything anywhere. Well, Horticulture is part of the Conservation department. So, I am going to get two hours on two days first thing in the morning in the greenhouse! That totally rocks for me! Seeing as it will be from 7am to 9am, I will likely be the only one there for at least part of the time. I can't wait to get started, even if I am only sweeping up the place, it will be awesome to work in a greenhouse!
-Joe
I already have an Aide position at the IT Help Desk for 16 hours a week (which may change depending on another Aides schedule that they are still waiting on) but needed to fill up that last 4 hours. So, I took my work-study paperwork to the Conservation department and asked if there were 4 hours available doing anything anywhere. Well, Horticulture is part of the Conservation department. So, I am going to get two hours on two days first thing in the morning in the greenhouse! That totally rocks for me! Seeing as it will be from 7am to 9am, I will likely be the only one there for at least part of the time. I can't wait to get started, even if I am only sweeping up the place, it will be awesome to work in a greenhouse!
-Joe
Thursday, January 13, 2011
More than you can handle...
It has been said by Christians, "God won't give you more than you can handle." It has been said by non-believers, "you will manage to get by with what you have got." What happens when a wrench gets thrown in to the mix? For example, a child with Autism. His biological mother can not handle him alone; he knows it and takes advantage of it. His biological father does not want him, too many other more important things to deal with. I admit I get frustrated by him, but I understand him and know that his needs are not able to be voiced by him, but there none-the-less.
I was speaking with my wife, who has problems of her own to deal with mentally, about how others can view my step-son and almost instantly realize he needs assistance but see her and not be able to understand that she also needs assistance. She can function normally quite a bit of the time. My step-son can not function normally, he can not choose to "be ok." He can't just decide that today will be a better day in school, or if he can, he has no way to let us know he has made that decision. When it is not a better day in school, he can not tell us what went wrong.
Forty-five days ago, my wife said she wants more stuff in the living room for my step-daughter to play with. So, I rearranged and attempted to make an orderly play space. Yesterday she said there is just way too much stuff in here, we need to clean up. Tonight when they got home from karate, my step-daughter asked if she could have a snack and if it could be ice cream. I asked my wife if that was ok with her and was told yes. I said I would get it in a minute because I was playing a game on the computer and wanted to finish the level. I know it was just a game, but I only needed a little more time. Thirty seconds later, my step-daughter asked again and I again said, in just a minute. Thirty more seconds later she went to my wife and whispered the request to her, so she asked me why I was not getting it yet. I felt my blood start to boil and shouted that I only asked for another minute. My wife will give her what she asks for when she asks for it almost every time and believes I should too because she is only five and wants her to have a better childhood. If I disagree, then I am totally against her and if I try to offer an alternative then I am just trying to make her angry or trying to instigate an argument.
My wife was getting ready to go out and visit a friend, she did not want to go, but felt it was an obligation and told me she felt guilty about going. I told her it was fine and she should go because she would feel guilty either way and she did not get to see this friend very often. My step-daughter got her ice cream snack and after my wife was gone and my step-son was in bed, I built a blanket tent in the living room for her to color in. I gave her a big flashlight and she was happy as a clam. "I love you Joe," she says to me. So, even tho I shouted just a little while earlier, she was able to forget it and be happy. My wife thinks that the shouting will damage her for the rest of her life.
I love them all dearly and would not trade them in for anyone else. I do right by them and they do right by me, but I can not seem to give any of them enough to make them happy all the time or even a lot of the time.
I can not understand any of it, about any of them. I don't know if this post is about my family, or myself.
-Joe
I was speaking with my wife, who has problems of her own to deal with mentally, about how others can view my step-son and almost instantly realize he needs assistance but see her and not be able to understand that she also needs assistance. She can function normally quite a bit of the time. My step-son can not function normally, he can not choose to "be ok." He can't just decide that today will be a better day in school, or if he can, he has no way to let us know he has made that decision. When it is not a better day in school, he can not tell us what went wrong.
Forty-five days ago, my wife said she wants more stuff in the living room for my step-daughter to play with. So, I rearranged and attempted to make an orderly play space. Yesterday she said there is just way too much stuff in here, we need to clean up. Tonight when they got home from karate, my step-daughter asked if she could have a snack and if it could be ice cream. I asked my wife if that was ok with her and was told yes. I said I would get it in a minute because I was playing a game on the computer and wanted to finish the level. I know it was just a game, but I only needed a little more time. Thirty seconds later, my step-daughter asked again and I again said, in just a minute. Thirty more seconds later she went to my wife and whispered the request to her, so she asked me why I was not getting it yet. I felt my blood start to boil and shouted that I only asked for another minute. My wife will give her what she asks for when she asks for it almost every time and believes I should too because she is only five and wants her to have a better childhood. If I disagree, then I am totally against her and if I try to offer an alternative then I am just trying to make her angry or trying to instigate an argument.
My wife was getting ready to go out and visit a friend, she did not want to go, but felt it was an obligation and told me she felt guilty about going. I told her it was fine and she should go because she would feel guilty either way and she did not get to see this friend very often. My step-daughter got her ice cream snack and after my wife was gone and my step-son was in bed, I built a blanket tent in the living room for her to color in. I gave her a big flashlight and she was happy as a clam. "I love you Joe," she says to me. So, even tho I shouted just a little while earlier, she was able to forget it and be happy. My wife thinks that the shouting will damage her for the rest of her life.
I love them all dearly and would not trade them in for anyone else. I do right by them and they do right by me, but I can not seem to give any of them enough to make them happy all the time or even a lot of the time.
I can not understand any of it, about any of them. I don't know if this post is about my family, or myself.
-Joe
Days go by...
We were on the way home from our initial setup meeting for Emma's new Karate class when Emma says "What's for dinner?" I reply, "Fish sticks and tots." She immediately said, "I don't like fish sticks."
That is very common no matter what my response is. I guess at 5 years old, I can not expect much different from her. We set up to have her first real class the next night and she says, "Can we go out to eat tomorrow night?" I replied, "Nope, we will eat at home like we usually do." Then Laura asked me why she couldn't say maybe. In most cases, at least when speaking with Emma, "maybe" means "yes." I responded with, "We're broke." I got accused of being mean for saying no and snapping for saying we're broke. We just spent $30 to sign her up for a trial of Karate.
I know I have to work on my tone when I speak, but it still gets frustrating. Emma is very excited about Karate though and I hope she is still excited after the trial. I think it will be great for her.
-Joe
That is very common no matter what my response is. I guess at 5 years old, I can not expect much different from her. We set up to have her first real class the next night and she says, "Can we go out to eat tomorrow night?" I replied, "Nope, we will eat at home like we usually do." Then Laura asked me why she couldn't say maybe. In most cases, at least when speaking with Emma, "maybe" means "yes." I responded with, "We're broke." I got accused of being mean for saying no and snapping for saying we're broke. We just spent $30 to sign her up for a trial of Karate.
I know I have to work on my tone when I speak, but it still gets frustrating. Emma is very excited about Karate though and I hope she is still excited after the trial. I think it will be great for her.
-Joe
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
What do I get out of it?
A sense of accomplishment? The title of "martyr?" I think I could get those in easier ways without much difficulty. I get what I have and what I enjoy most of the time, a home and a family; a wife and children.
Of course there are frustrations and even times of anger, but I see it all as a normal part of existing. There are things that would make life easier, but there are things that would make it harder too.
In general, I am happy. There may be people who could argue that I could be happier, but as noted above, I could be less happy too. I am not one to run away from difficulty and that difficulty may be viewed in varying degrees of harshness. As noted in earlier posts, I do not see much of what I do as difficult. With all that said, the first line of this paragraph can only be reiterated.
-Joe
Of course there are frustrations and even times of anger, but I see it all as a normal part of existing. There are things that would make life easier, but there are things that would make it harder too.
In general, I am happy. There may be people who could argue that I could be happier, but as noted above, I could be less happy too. I am not one to run away from difficulty and that difficulty may be viewed in varying degrees of harshness. As noted in earlier posts, I do not see much of what I do as difficult. With all that said, the first line of this paragraph can only be reiterated.
-Joe
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