Things I Keep Forgetting to Mention . . .

Yes, I started grad school three weeks ago. I am currently only taking one class, but my second one starts in about a week, so I will be full time at that point. I'm majoring in Marriage and Family Therapy. My first class is an introductory one designed to ease us into the program and the online format. The first week was easy. The second week was fairly easy as well. The third week is requiring a bit more work. My first major paper is due next week. Last night was the first time in this program that I stayed up until after midnight working on an assignment. I think that may be more the rule rather than the exception in this program. I am so lucky I have a husband who totally supports me in this! Thank you Rob! :)

Grad school is a bit different from undergrad :) Much more is expected of us. There are no posted reading assignments, no guide as to which chapters we should find the material we need for various assignments. All assignments need to be written in third person. That takes a bit of getting used to. Several of my classmates tackle this particular hurtle by using their names instead of saying "I". For example, Laney thinks that Freud was a demented freak :) (He really was - he must have had a very messed up childhood.) That method sounds odd to me, so I don't like using it. I was speaking to a friend today and she laughingly pointed out that it's interesting that we are going into the mental health field and some of us are starting to talk about ourselves in the third person - which can be a sign of mental issues :) Maybe they are helping us relate to future patients :)

I'm finding myself getting more and more interested in the topics discussed. I apologize in advance to my friends and family members who I know I will attempt to debate random topics with :) I will try and restrain myself :) Today's topic of interest, at least to me, is whether autism would fall into the nature or nurture category. I am aware that the answer to that question cannot be verified until the causes of autism are proven. I happen to think it falls into the nature category. Anyone who would like to discuss or debate the topic is welcome to email me :)

On a different topic, I broke my toe (or bruised it really, really badly) last week. At least it was my little toe, so I can still walk reasonably well :) Kylie was enthralled by it; she said she had never seen a purple and blue toe. The whole toe is very swollen and the bruising covers the toe and spreads out a few inches onto my foot. Very attractive :) I ran full speed into Megan's metal scooter in my attempt to rescue Jack from falling off the edge of the kitchen sink (which he had climbed up to via a chair he pushed over to it and then kicked over) onto the tile floor below. I made it - although it's a good thing that I hit the scooter only a few feet away from reaching Jack (it was left in the middle of the kitchen floor). The scooter is no longer allowed in the house.

Megan seems to be doing ok. Her temp has hovered around 99 this week, which is elevated, but not considered a fever. She is still complaining of abdominal pain and a sore throat, but hasn't mentioned limb pain in a few days. We are still waiting for the lupus panel results. It's been a week today and we were told we would have them on Monday. Apparently they take 5-7 days, so I think the Monday deadline was a bit skewed, but I really hope we get them today. We've decided to wait for those results before taking our next step. She has gone to school every day this week, although she has visited the nurse every day as well. I don't know if we've turned her into a hypochondriac or if she's really not feeling well. It's so hard to tell . . . I need a crystal ball - anybody have one to spare? :)

Exciting news for us . . . Andrea Bocelli is coming to Dallas in June!!! He is one of Rob's very favorite singers and we have been trying to get to one of his performances for quite a few years. He came to San Antonio last year, but the tickets sold out so quickly we were not able to get any. This time around we were able to buy them before they went on sale to the general public by using our American Express card, so Rob and I are going to see Andrea Bocelli!!! Tickets are insanely expensive, so we have nosebleed seats, but I'm sure it will be amazing! :) What a perfect birthday present for Rob (even if it will be a month early)!