David is now 11 years old, as you can see in the picture above. We went to Sonic for supper, per his request. They've shut down so many Sonic locations in the area and David commented that he wanted to go there before they all closed! After our experience last night, I think I understand why they aren't doing so well! The service was bad, the food was more expensive than we had anticipated, and the food was cold! Never again! But I think David enjoyed it, regardless.
Will now has his school permit. I dragged all 4 boys up to the Ankeny DMV and waited forever and ever for them to call number 557. That place is a study in humanity. I enjoy the people watching. One woman, probably a foreigner, had a toddler tied to her back with a long scarf - I'm serious! The little guy was grinning and oh-so-happy, until he wiggled far enough down so that the scarf was around his neck. We all were watching a little horrified, nobody wanting to jump up, but not wishing to see this kid strangle to death in front of us either. Finally, he protested enough that Mama paid attention and she went to untie the scarf. My breath caught, sure that the baby would tumble to the floor. But instead, she reached around and pulled him over her shoulder by only one of his arms - which made me wince. This is why strollers were invented!
But back to my opening statement: Will can now drive to and from school activities unsupervised. Since early morning weight lifting starts next Thursday, I, for one, am grateful. I may not feel the same once I contact State Farm next week and have them insure him, though! I am not, not, not looking forward to that!
Paul's Uncle Gerald died a week ago. He'd had colon cancer for 7 years. In the early years he went to Switzerland a few times for some alternative treatments. I don't know if those prolonged his life or not. 7 years seems like an awfully long time to live with cancer. You know, Paul's aunt did the same thing when she was dx with pancreatic cancer. She went to Mexico. I don't know - if that ever happens to me, I'd really have to be persuaded that spending that much money would be worth it. If death is in my future, regardless, I'd just as soon not put my family in hock in order to give me a little more time. But maybe I'd feel differently once actually dx. Hopefully, that won't ever happen. Cancer isn't in my family, except for one great-aunt, so I am hoping that my chances of developing it are minimal.
So Paul went out to Council Bluffs on Tuesday for the graveside service and meal (no funeral - kind of different - just a note: when I die, I want the whole shebang - slide show and everything!). Then he spent rest of the day fixing peoples' air conditioners. He called me about 10:30 that night and asked if I thought he ought to try to drive home then or wait until first thing in the morning. I told him to go out to his parents' and sleep, which he did. But he was stressed by the time he rolled into our driveway at 8am the next morning because that old red van he drove was giving him problems. He had a rough day Wed, having several "awake" seizures while working. That really concerned me. When the boys and I got home from church, there Paul was in the kitchen, washing strawberries that he had just picked out of the patch. I wasn't happy. He needed to be in bed! He finally got there and we dosed him up a little bit with extra drugs and then I fell asleep praying that he would not have any nighttime seizures, because he needed sleep so desperately. And he didn't!
I found Will and David playing chess together this week. I'll have to be sure to drop that into casual conversation here and there over the next few weeks. That makes me sound like an uuber-successful homeschool mom - that my children play the highly intellectual game of chess for amusement! And of course, this was in the morning before their debate team met and before math club in the afternoon...kidding, of course...sigh. Actually, it was right before they picked up their Wii remotes and started trying to beat eachother's lego aliens on the tv, pausing occasionally to scratch their armpits and burp the alphabet! Intelligentsia, they are not! :)
But Will did impress someone, apparently. I got a note this week from the Network informing me that it was "with great pleasure" Will had been accepted for the fall semester. And, upon review of his test scores, the admitting committee was quite impressed with his high writing score and was suggesting that instead of enrolling him into Writing I, I might want to consider putting him in Writing III which is a college level course. I basked in that for about a half second before writing them back and saying, "Let me tell you something about that test..." He'll be in Writing I!
I've got a little more to write, but I need to go check some of Will's Language, the one subject he has actually finished for the year. I started out so well last fall. I dutifully graded all his work, figured out the proper percentages, and recorded them in this handy notebook I had designed for keeping track of it all for his transcript. That lasted oh - 6 days, maybe. Now, I have a whole year's worth of grades to figure and record, as well as several week's worth of work to check yet. I have to get that done this summer! It's going to be a long summer...
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