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ciroccojIt's too bad there's no emoticon for "flummoxed" because that's how I'm feeling right about now. I feel like I'm going to have to wake up soon, because things don't all go well all at once like this without it having to do with serious REM sleep or hallucinogens.
Justin is on a waiting list to get ear tubes put in.
Chris may be able to do only 2-3 call/month.
Good marital therapy.
Home schooling parents are interested in doing a weekly drop-in.
Cirocco going to bed now, can't handle this.
Took Justin to the ENT. He took a look at his ears and started the whole, "He's fine, wait and see, ear tubes might be necessary at some point, but really, blah blah blah." And my heart sank. Then I decided to really be forceful and say everything I never say to doctors out of deference to their Extreme Exalted Status. So I told him about our experience in London ("wait and see" for months, 10 ear infections and extreme misery for us all, and when they finally decided we had to do something NOW... there was a 6-month wait for surgery.) He started to do the "wait and see" dance again, and I asked if there was any harm in putting Justin on a waiting list now and when his surgery date comes up, see then if he really needs it. I don't want my kid put under any more than the doctor does, but I also don't want all of us to suffer through yet another winter like this one again.
And the guy said OK! Wheee!
Fresh from this victory, I go to pick up Chris at work for our counseling session. He's late - I'm doing a slow burn. He gets in the car and the first thing he says is, "You'll like why I'm late." This better be good, I think.
It was. The program director got a letter from Chris' doctor saying he really couldn't handle this much call, that because of the brain injury it's too hard for him to recover from 30-hour shifts and that 5-6 of them a month is extremely detrimental, and really, 1/month would be more reasonable.
Which is completely unrealistic, but the program director felt that 2-3/month was certainly doable, and she was totally supportive, and she'll go to bat for him with the Graduate Education Committee.
?
I don't even know how to feel about that. After living with him continually being at work/on call/post-call/preparing presentations for so many years... and looking at that being our lives for the next three years at least... I don't even know what to think.
So we go to counseling and it's a little disorienting because one of the major stessors in our life is Chris' &%#$ job, so it was strange sitting through a session where we're talking about how to cope with the stress of a crushing workload on our marriage and family when we don't know how crushing the workload will continue to be.
Good session anyway.
So I come home. Yesterday, knowing I was probably indulging in an exersise in utter futility, I put out an announcement on the local homeschool-network mailing list, asking if anybody would be interested in a weekly drop-in. I was involved in one in London, and it was great and very active and supportive, but Ottawa just doesn't seem to have anything like that. There are events, but they're not just "drop-in and hang out and get to know other families". And homeschooling parents here seem to have no interest in welcoming new homeschoolers - they all already know each other. I spent the first nine months between moving here and starting law school beating my head against a wall, going to all the homeschooling events we could go to and being roundly shunned by everyone. I really thought we smelled. Bad.
So I put out an announcement: I'm going to start a drop-in, anyone who wants to can come to my house on Tuesday. I expected it to drop into a deep, soundless void.
Not. So far I have four responses* (the announcement went out three hours ago) from people asking directions to our home, saying what a great idea, yeah we used to do that in Montreal too, Ottawa really needs that, etc etc.
So yeah.
Flummoxed. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
* Edit as soon as I finished typing this update: make that five responses.
Justin is on a waiting list to get ear tubes put in.
Chris may be able to do only 2-3 call/month.
Good marital therapy.
Home schooling parents are interested in doing a weekly drop-in.
Cirocco going to bed now, can't handle this.
Took Justin to the ENT. He took a look at his ears and started the whole, "He's fine, wait and see, ear tubes might be necessary at some point, but really, blah blah blah." And my heart sank. Then I decided to really be forceful and say everything I never say to doctors out of deference to their Extreme Exalted Status. So I told him about our experience in London ("wait and see" for months, 10 ear infections and extreme misery for us all, and when they finally decided we had to do something NOW... there was a 6-month wait for surgery.) He started to do the "wait and see" dance again, and I asked if there was any harm in putting Justin on a waiting list now and when his surgery date comes up, see then if he really needs it. I don't want my kid put under any more than the doctor does, but I also don't want all of us to suffer through yet another winter like this one again.
And the guy said OK! Wheee!
Fresh from this victory, I go to pick up Chris at work for our counseling session. He's late - I'm doing a slow burn. He gets in the car and the first thing he says is, "You'll like why I'm late." This better be good, I think.
It was. The program director got a letter from Chris' doctor saying he really couldn't handle this much call, that because of the brain injury it's too hard for him to recover from 30-hour shifts and that 5-6 of them a month is extremely detrimental, and really, 1/month would be more reasonable.
Which is completely unrealistic, but the program director felt that 2-3/month was certainly doable, and she was totally supportive, and she'll go to bat for him with the Graduate Education Committee.
?
I don't even know how to feel about that. After living with him continually being at work/on call/post-call/preparing presentations for so many years... and looking at that being our lives for the next three years at least... I don't even know what to think.
So we go to counseling and it's a little disorienting because one of the major stessors in our life is Chris' &%#$ job, so it was strange sitting through a session where we're talking about how to cope with the stress of a crushing workload on our marriage and family when we don't know how crushing the workload will continue to be.
Good session anyway.
So I come home. Yesterday, knowing I was probably indulging in an exersise in utter futility, I put out an announcement on the local homeschool-network mailing list, asking if anybody would be interested in a weekly drop-in. I was involved in one in London, and it was great and very active and supportive, but Ottawa just doesn't seem to have anything like that. There are events, but they're not just "drop-in and hang out and get to know other families". And homeschooling parents here seem to have no interest in welcoming new homeschoolers - they all already know each other. I spent the first nine months between moving here and starting law school beating my head against a wall, going to all the homeschooling events we could go to and being roundly shunned by everyone. I really thought we smelled. Bad.
So I put out an announcement: I'm going to start a drop-in, anyone who wants to can come to my house on Tuesday. I expected it to drop into a deep, soundless void.
Not. So far I have four responses* (the announcement went out three hours ago) from people asking directions to our home, saying what a great idea, yeah we used to do that in Montreal too, Ottawa really needs that, etc etc.
So yeah.
Flummoxed. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
* Edit as soon as I finished typing this update: make that five responses.
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no subject
Date: 2003-05-01 01:14 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-05-01 01:19 pm (UTC)So I interrupted and pointed out that he's whiny, clingy, weepy and hyper when he's got an ear infection. And that for over a year, until he got tubes put in the first time (they've since fallen out) we just thought that's what he was like. And that after the tubes went in, we discovered he actually had a pretty sunny disposition after all.
"I understand his infections make things unpleasant for you, but-"
"And for him!!" I said.
::grumble:: Like I'm just parent trying to sidestep the normal annoyances of parenthood. Jeez, I can put up with a lot, but I don't think Justin should have to go through this kind of pain. It can't be good for him, whether it affects his hearing or not.