Teaching Elijah to Tie His Shoes

Elijah is 15 years old and up until yesterday did not know how to tie his shoes. How could this happen you wonder? When Jacob started kindergarten, we were told part of the curriculum was that he would need to learn to tie his shoes. We practiced at home and he practiced at school. He learned to tie his shoes and that was that.

When Elijah was born, there were other things to worry about and the least of my worries was him learning to tie his shoes. He spent four weeks in the NICU and then four weeks in the special care nursery. He came home on oxygen and stayed on oxygen for the next seven months. I spent the winter keeping him healthy and alive. From that point on the focus was on his lungs and his deafness. I was constantly taking care of him, Jacob, my husband, trying to work and trying to find answers on how to help Elijah.

Elijah started school at three in a deaf education preschool classroom in a district that was not in the city we lived in. He started in a signing classroom and then moved to an oral classroom. He had been implanted at 18 months and then in the middle of his second year of pre-k he got his second implant. My focus was still on his lungs as he could get sick quite quickly and on him learning to listen and speak.

Elijah started kindergarten in another district to receive services from a deaf education teacher in a deaf education classroom. Learning to tie his shoes was not on the curriculum and I didn't have time to teach him. This may sound like I was lazy, but that is far from the case. I had been taking him to auditory verbal therapy from the time he was 18 months old through 1st grade once week. His dad took him for another visit each week.  We needed time for therapy at home, homework, my prep for teaching and to hopefully have some fun in there somewhere. When Elijah was in 1st grade he started with occupational therapy for some fine motor issues. Learning to tie his shoes was not a priority. When we couldn't find Velcro shoes I bought LockLaces to uses in his shoes. He also gets frustrated really easily so it was just easier to use the LockLaces.

What has changed and why does Elijah need to learn to tie his shoes? Elijah wants to be in the ROTC this coming school year when he enters high school. Once he is fitted for his uniform he will be required to wear it once a week, and this means dress shoes. Thankfully, all of this is provided by the school at no cost, but he will need to know how to ties his shoes. I will leave in the morning before he is quite dressed and ready and my honey doesn't want to be tying the shoes of a 15 year old boy each morning who isn't always the most cooperative on a good day.

Elijah and I spent about 30 minutes yesterday working on him learning to tie his shoes, and me having to really refine the steps as I tie my shoes without even thinking. He stuck with it and by the end of the 30 minutes could tie a shoe with some prompts from me. We practiced again before he went to bed, again this morning and once again this afternoon. He can now tie a shoe but it still requires a great deal of concentration on his part. We will practice every day for the next three weeks and even after school starts. I am proud of him. It didn't take as long as I thought for him to be able to complete the steps and tie a shoe. Now he just needs to get it more automatic and refine his methods.

Oh and he is a lefty, so I had to tie a shoe using my left hand as my dominate hand....well that gave me some perspective, because I really had to THINK about how to tie the shoe when I was using my left hand.

Last Day of School!

Today was the last day of school for both boys. My last day is Saturday, and yes you read that correctly....SATURDAY. I will survive, I am sure. I now have a SENIOR and a SEVENTH GRADER in the house! Jacob will be in his fourth year of ROTC and taking a college class each semester in Computer Maintenance. Elijah will be moving up to Junior High! Where has the time gone!

I took Jacob into the orthopedist today, just to check out his finger. He really did break the very tip of it. There were no tendon or joint involvement which is great. He needs to wear the splint for another week and then he can go without it. The orthopedist said it takes about three weeks to heal. The ER doctor had told him to wear the splint for six weeks! He was happy to hear he could take it off in another week. He also got a note stating he could work. He goes into work tonight, as a matter of fact!

Elijah and I are leaving for the state school for the deaf for a family weekend retreat in about a week. Jacob will be staying home with my honey so he can work. Other than that, we have a quiet summer planned!

Looking Back on 2012 and Forward to 2013

Here we are again at the end of another year! Overall, I would say it has been a good year. There have been several milestones this years for all of us. Jacob took driving classes and got his permit. He is now a junior and got his class ring! He is taller than me and growing up way too fast. He has a friend that is a girl, who has been over to our house several times. He and I have had some really good talks lately and he showing signs of becoming an adult and other times he is still such a teen. Next year brings him taking his test for his driver's license and turning 17. He still plans to referee soccer and then possibly getting a job in the summer.



Elijah is in sixth grade and will enter middle school next year. He will soon enter his teen years when his birthday rolls around in April. He told grandma today that he will be 13 in 2013! He is still such a little boy though. Children with Tourette Syndrome act 2/3 their age when it comes to maturity and I can definitely see this with Elijah. He is 12 but sometimes act more like an eight or nine year old. I guess he will grow up soon enough. He has had his ups and downs this past  year and we have made many changes in medications, but through it all we just keep on going. We recently made a new change in his medications and I think it has been a good change. We will know more when he goes back to school. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals and likes for me to tuck him in. One of these days he will grow up and not want me to "mother" him too much, so I think I will try to enjoy it while I can. Here is playing with a castle he made using styrofoam. He has a good imagination.

 

Things continue to go well with me and my honey. We have had a wonderful year together and are looking forward to many more years. We have fixed up the house and have plans to fix things up even more. We talked today about putting money away to travel to Germany in a year or two. I enjoy our family and I see such a difference in all of our happiness since my honey came along. My job is going well and keeps me busy. I enjoy my job and it brings me much satisfaction when I see growth in our students.

I am not sure what 2013 has in store for us. Jacob will have to start thinking about what he wants to do after he graduates. He still plans on being in ROTC next school year. Elijah will change schools in the Fall and have new teachers to get used too. I am sure something will change at work, it always does, but I will just have to roll with it. I know my honey will be there to support me through all of this as I will support her.

Please be safe tonight and Happy New Year!

October is almost over!

October has been a very long month, both at work and at home. Elijah has been doing OK since we I last posted, but just OK. He has had some very good days and some other days that have not been so great. Overall, it is still better than last year, but we have seen a bit of aggression. I called the doctor this past week and we increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg. I am hoping that helps him a bit. I know a lot of this is his OCD and not being able to "let things go" once the thought is in his head. I have the same thing, but as and adult can deal with it a lot better!

Jacob is doing awesome right now. He is very aware of his grades and keeping them up. He earned money being a referee for soccer. He is participating in ROTC and enjoying that. He is taking more responsibility for his chores around the house and his manners have improved a great deal! Yesterday he earned $30 refereeing and after we picked him up we headed to Target. He usually puts all of the money he earns in his savings account, but today he asked if he could spend it. I told him he could and so he went off to look for what he wanted and we went and shopped. We met up at the front after we had all checked out. I asked him what he got and he said a belt. I was surprised he had not asked me to buy him a belt. He then said, "I also bought a small Lego kit for Elijah." He amazes me daily and he is growing into such a fine young man.

All of us are looking forward to having the week of Thanksgiving off. We do have a few doctor's appointments that week, but it shouldn't be too bad. We will most likely go to my mom's house for the day. We will then be on the count down to Christmas. I have already started with some shopping for the boys!

Mansions Have Ghosts!

Elijah and I have the house to ourselves this weekend. Jacob is away for two nights on an ROTC field trip and my honey is out of town until Monday! I had a dinner mystery shop, so Elijah and I set off for a 20 minute drive to eat dinner! We had a pretty interesting conversation driving there and then driving back!

Most of the drive is on a two lane road that has a lot of nice homes on it. You can even see a large lake! We discussed some of the homes and other things we saw as we drove there. We had a nice dinner and much of the conversation on the way home was on what we saw. We had seen a three story house and Elijah was looking for it again, because he had never seen a three story house. We saw it again and then we came upon a LARGE house up on a hill. There is even a gated entrance to this house. I pointed it out to Elijah and he said, "that's a mansion!" I was quite impressed he knew that word! I wouldn't say this was a HUGE mansion, but just calling it a house was not appropriate. Plus it sits on top of a hill and has a gated entrance. I told him he was correct, that was a mansion! He then said, "mansions have ghosts!" He laughed as he said it. I asked him why mansions have ghosts and he said, "because they are OLD!" I started laughing at that one! He told me the house was one thousand years old, so then I told him how old I thought the house was and we talked more about houses! I wondered where he might have heard the word mansion and realized it was probably from "Scooby Doo" cartoons and of course, in that cartoon mansions usually did have ghosts!

I still marvel at my son and how well he has done with learning language and using his cochlear implants. Today was a day that I realized how lucky I am that there is this technology out there and good therapists to work with us! I wish parents would realize that implants do work, but there is a LOT of time and effort that must be put in. It is not an easy fix. I look back at all of the therapy sessions we attended when he was first "turned on " and wonder how we did it all. How we drove back and forth to Dallas once a week for me and then David too him once a week. Jacob went with me when I took Elijah and we were after 6:30 getting home most days, after sitting in traffic for at least 90 minutes. All of those sacrifices were worth it though and as I watch Elijah today, I am thankful that we did put all of that time in with him. He is a joy to me, as is Jacob.

Things are not as hard these days. Tourettes, OCD and ADHD seem to get in the way some days, but for the most part things are going well there. He has had good days at school, with some minor issues, but nothing serious. I am glad he and I have had this time and still have time until Jacob comes home tomorrow afternoon/evening!

Off to a Good Start!

Well the first three days of school have gone well so far. We have managed to get up on time and be ready when the bus arrives for Elijah. Jacob gets himself off later to the bus stop. Elijah has had three good days at school. He was a little disruptive today and didn't earn his happy face for today, but nothing too serious. He is working towards doughnuts on Saturday morning for breakfast. He has earned one doughnut and six doughnut holes so far. We will start a new system with him next week and see if it works a bit better on tracking his "greens" that he earns each class period at school, or doesn't earn!

Jacob likes all of his classes so far. I stopped and bought him a $100 graphing scientific calculator! OUCH! He is going to go on an ROTC field trip in a few weeks and we are choosing designs for his class ring. He is taking his ROTC uniform to school tomorrow to trade it in for a larger pair of pants and a larger shirt. YES, he has grown some since May! He told me today that he was offered a leadership position in ROTC and I told him to go for it. I really want him to enjoy his last two years of school and be more active in ROTC.

My first three days back have gone well. I have kept busy checking on students and teachers. It has been a pretty smooth start to the school year and I am looking forward to a great year!

School Starts Monday!

School starts on Monday for both boys! Elijah will be going into the sixth grade at the local intermediate school. We have all of his school supplies and delivered them at Meet the Teacher this past Thursday. He has many of the same teachers as last year, but I did find out his Deaf Ed. Itinerant teacher will be someone new this year! At least everyone already knows how to use his FM system! He is excited about starting school and I think a bit anxious. I am hoping for a good year.

Jacob will be a Junior this year! He will be in ROTC again and will also be getting his Senior Class Ring. He should get the information next week and then we will have to decide what type of ring he will get. He should get a list of school supplies that he needs from each of his teachers.

I went back to work last week, but our kids start on Monday too! I am ready to get back to work full time, but it is hard to get back into the groove of getting up early!

I hope everyone has a great school year!

IEP Meeting and Update

We had Elijah's annual IEP(we call it an ARD meeting here in Texas) and it went fairly well. We are going to change his schedule around and have him in a resource Science and Social Studies class. He needs the smaller class size due to his behavior and due to his academics. He is reading at a 3.5 grade level and is progressing with his deaf ed. teacher. She has been with him for several years.

There are concerns about behavior. He has been yelling a lot lately and that is something everyone is working on. He and I even talked about it today. We are hoping that by changing his schedule that his frustration level will lower and that will lead to better choices in behavior. He starts his new schedule on Monday and we shall see how it goes.

Jacob is doing well in school. He still loves ROTC. He has learned to shave with a regular razor. His grandpa helped him with that! He is so handsome! He can be quite nice at times, and other times a grumpy teenager, but sometimes I am grumpy so I guess we all have those times.

We are gearing up for the holidays. Each of the boys has a short list of things they want. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break! School is going well for me, but I am so busy!

Keeping my fingers crossed that we see improvement with Elijah and I'll keep y'all posted.

Update on boys and school!

Well both boys have been back to school for two weeks now. Jacob got his ROTC uniform switched out for a bit larger size so he is set and ready to wear it when the time comes. We went to Meet the Teacher the other night and I got to meet most of his teachers. They spoke well of him and so far he is doing well in school. He is a sophomore this year and is having to shave a few times a week!

Elijah is in 5th grade and attending an intermediate school. He was in the behavior program for the last two and a half years at the elementary school. Needless to say this is a HUGE change for him. He is riding the bus to and from school. An aide meets him and several other kids at the school and they wait in the library for school to start. He has two resource classes(English and Math) and is in inclusion for Science and Social Studies. He has had a few behavior challenges. The teachers have been great at communicating with me as have both of the principals.

He did spit at several kids at lunch the other day. The assistant principal called and when I told her it was a tic, I could her the disbelief in her voice. We talked and then when I arrived home I emailed the principal. The school LSSP(psychologist) happened to call the next day and we spoke for quite some time. She agreed that the spitting was a tic and she would talk to both principals the next day. She asked lots of good questions and will be leading a workshop for Elijah's teachers next week. The LSSP asked me what I really wanted the teachers to get out of this workshop and I told her that Tourette's is not just about tics, it has many co morbid disorders. We also discussed how Elijah's hearing loss affects his communication in regards to his tourette's syndrome. Elijah is a good communicator but not great at explaining how his tics affect him.

I have to say though, that overall I am pleased with how the school year has started. I am sure there will be some issues during this school year, but hopefully we can all work together to ensure that Elijah has a good year!

Things are going well!

Things are going well here at the Shaddox household. Jacob is still enjoining ROTC and earned four ribbons first semester. One if for having a high GPA and another one is for good attendance. He was one of just a few cadets to get all four ribbons.ROTC has really been a good fit for him. He plans on being in ROTC for all four years of high school. I need to ask him about his other class choices for next year. He was out with the flu for four days last six weeks and that made it hard for him to keep his grades up, but he managed!







Elijah is doing well. He had a great week last week at school and started off with another good day today. He is doing well at home and we continue with the ticket reward system. He really likes earning the tickets and buying computer or Wii time with them. We just started using Netflix with the Wii and he is so smart and figured out how to get to the movies and such. He probably knows how to run it better than me at this point!

Work is keeping me very busy! I am driving a LOT and it seems that more and more deaf and hard of hearing students are turning up on my doorstep! I guess it is job security. Sometimes the driving gets old, but it isn't too bad. I have been taking some books on CD to listen to and that helps some! Sometimes I am busy on the phone even when I am in the car. I think all three of us are ready for spring break. I have several appointments during that week for the boys to see doctors, but nothing too time consuming....except for the pulmanologist. That is usually at two hour visit, if not longer!

I am also doing some mystery shopping on the weekends to bring in some extra money. It isn't too difficult and is actually pretty interesting at times! I hope everyone else is doing well!!!!

Jacob's First Dance!

Here is Jacob, all dressed up and ready to go to his dance tonight with ROTC. Where did my little baby boy go? Here stands a young man who is 5 foot 8 inches tall and becoming such a fine young man. I am so glad he likes ROTC and has a group of young people to hang out with.

He has a light mustache and hair on his chin. He also has hair on the side of his face. He is going to have to start shaving at some point. He is still such a teen, but at other times he can act older than he is.

I don't think I am ready for him to grow up.

Staying Busy!

Well, I don't have as much time to write as I usually do. Work is keeping me very busy and I am worn out at night. I am glad to stay busy, but am doing a LOT more driving these days it seems. I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving break!! All three of us will be out for the whole week!

Jacob is doing well. He is still enjoying ROTC. I ordered his yearbook today. He said he didn't want one, but one of my biggest regrets is not buying a yearbook for my junior year! He can also put some personal pages in there....his school was one of five across the country chosen to try this pilot program, so that is pretty cool!

Elijah had a rough week about two weeks ago so I was on the phone with the doctor a few times. We finally decided to up one of his morning medications and that seems to have helped. He had an AWESOME week this week!

Both boys are starting their Christmas lists and I have a few surprises for them! I cannot believe how quickly it is approaching!

He Looks so Grown Up!

I don't know when it happened, but sometime in the last six months or so, Jacob has grown up on me. He is now 5 ft 7 inches tall(two inches taller than me) and looking more and more like a young man, than a boy.

He has decided to be part of the honor guard in ROTC, which means he marches with the flag bearers carrying a gun. Today I went to pick him up and he had texted he was ready. We waited and waited, and no Jacob. I tried calling him to no answer, so Elijah and I went in.

I looked down the hallway through a window in the door, and said to myself.."there he is." I then second guessed myself and though, "NO that is not him, that boy looks too old to be Jacob. He looks so serious standing at attention." As I stepped through the door, I realized it WAS Jacob. He was standing at attentino with a rifle(not real) in one hand by his side. He stayed at attention and although he did look in my direction.

Elijah and I walked out, he knew I was there and waiting and he didn't need mom hovering. As I stepped out, I realized wondered..."where did that baby boy of mine go?" Well, he was standing right there, still my baby, just not looking like a baby anymore. I think the next four years are going to fly by so I better enjoy them while I can and remember every bit of it.

Enjoying the Weather and my Sunday!

The boys and I are just hanging at home today with the windows open. It is actually a little chilly and so we only have three windows open. The cats are so funny, because as soon as they hear me open a window all three just come running. I mean they run full force and jump onto the window sill. I'll then move to Elijah's room and pull open the blinds and here they come. I can hear their paws pounding on the carpet as I open the window.

Later, when I start closing up the windows they run to the window with this pleading look of, "NO, don't close the window!" and then they run for the next onelike they can stop me!

I have cleaned house some today and watched a movie. Just enjoying not doing much of anything. I asked Jacob if he wanted to take a ride to the mall down the street, Firewheel, but he said NO! No good movies out and really not much else to do but enjoy being home with not much to do!

The rest of the week will be crazy. Tomorrow night, Jacob will march in the Homecoming Parade with the ROTC. On Thursday, I'll meet with Elijah's teacher to see how he is doing, then rush home to get Jacob and get him to his soccer game by 6:00 so he can referee. Tuesday and Wednesday are crazy too!! I guess that means I should enjoy not having much to do today!

Update!

Things are going well as we go into October. Jacob is enjoying ROTC and passed his classes for his six weeks. Elijah is doing pretty well in school. I have a conference with his teacher next week to get a true feeling of how he is doing. I just looked over and see him chewing on a sock. YUCK. This is one of his tics...chewing.

Jacob's soccer games got rained out last week and he isn't scheduled for another game until the 23rd. Hope a few more come up before then. He worked hard to get his certification!

Work is going well. I am staying very busy and doing a lot of driving. I got to do the cha cha with some elementary school kids today and it was FUN!

Four Weeks into School

We are four weeks into school and things seem to be going well so far. I have been running crazy busy at work, but things finally seemed to calm a bit this week. I actually got some quality time in my office to get some things done! I am hoping this continues. I have to travel in a few weeks, but that is another story!


Jacob is LOVING school. He has had a few bumps in the road with an Algebra test and a test in Biology. I am keeping a close eye on it and emailed the Colonel over his ROTC class to help intervene. Jacob went to a lock in that the ROTC held last night and LOVED it. He did say a few kids got rowdy and everyone had to do push ups, but he wasn't really complaining. He loves wearing his ROTC uniform and takes great pride in it. This week he got his name badge with SHADDOX on it. I am so glad he has started off the year well. These four years will fly by and I want him to really enjoy them. I have so many regrets about my high school years. Nothing awful, I just wish I had done more!

Elijah has had a good four weeks at school. He has had a few days with "poor behavior" but nothing like we have seen in the past. He has had no physical aggression towards anyone and I am hoping that continues. He seems to like school more this year. He is taking NO medications while at school. He takes his medication in the morning prior to school. Last year he took one medication at school. He was on this medication for tics, but it wasn't seeming to help anymore, so the doctor wanted me to slowly take him off of it and we did that this summer. The new medication for tics he takes in the morning and did take in the afternoon, but I stopped the afternoon one. Tics had decreased and it was hard to know if it was really helping or not.

We went to the neurologist this week and he agreed. The less meds Elijah has to take the better. Sometimes there will just be tics and IF they are not INTERFERING too much into his life than no meds. He has gained a lot of weight and that is a concern. Last night he had what seemed like more tics, but nothing to serious. For now all I can do is observe and decide from day to day what to do. Elijah is also not the best reporter of how his tics affect him or if it is a "good" or "bad" tic day. I think his hearing loss plays a part in that. He has come a long way with language but he is still a deaf child who hears with cochlear implants, who is a bit behind in his language skills. I can guarantee this, there is no other child like him! He and Jacob both are one of a kind!

Communication

I have been thinking a lot about communication, miscommunications and perceptions lately. So much of my job and my life is dependent on how I communicate with people. In my new role at work this is very true and it is also true as a parent and as human being. There is so much more to communication than the words we say, but also in how we say them and in body language!

Our basic need to communicate starts at birth. As a baby we cry to get our needs met and later as we grow we learn to talk. It is a lengthy process taking over three years of LISTENING to really get it right and it is still refined daily from even that point. For children who have a hearing loss, everything depends on when that hearing loss is discovered and the interventions put in place to assist that child in learning to communicate. I sometimes wonder if deaf toddlers watch hearing people communicate and wonder, "how are these people getting their needs met," and how frustrating it must be for that child to get his or her needs met. I could go on for days about this, because I work with children daily who are living their lives frustarted with just daily communication. This could be a blog series, but I want to turn now to how even hearing people communicate!

Even as a hearing person who has speech and language, communication can be a struggle. It isn't just in the words you say, but how you say them to convey your needs and also in your body language. It is also dependent in the baggage the listener brings with him or her. A person who initiates a conversation may have no idea that the listener has had a bad day or is holding a grudge against the speaker for something that happened several days before. An innocent conversation can turn into an arguement, just because of a miscoummincation or in how the speaker's message is interpreted.

I am finding at work that I need to chose my words and learn to read the other person when I am speaking in order to adjust my message. I am also learning to be a better listener and be patient with the person talking and let them really finish. I am a fast talker and a fast thinker, my brain starts going 100 mph and I have to tell it to slow down sometimes and be patient. I have also learned to communicate to others that I am aware I am a fast talker and I truly try to slow down, BUT if I am ever talking too fast it doesn't bother me for someone to ask me to slow down.

I have been trying to teach my 14 year old that I truly do want to listen to him when he decides to share with me. He does it so rarely that I truly do want to listen. However, I may be in the middle of something and he needs to wait so I can give him 100% of my attention or there may be background noise that is making it difficult for me to listen. He is also a mumbler and thinks I am NOT listening when in fact I am. I am hoping ROTC will help him become a better communicator!

I saw all of this to encourage others to remember how precious it is that we can communicate. To remember that communication takes two people and as a listener we should be open to listening not shut off! I am hoping to continue to grow as a good communicator!

Two Weeks into the School Year

We are two weeks into the school year, and I am happy to report things are going well. Jacob is loving the high school. He will wear his ROTC uniform to school this Wednesday and every Wednesday of the school year. I can't wait to get a picture of him! I took him to get his haircut today so he could wear his hat properly.

Elijah continues to do well at school. He has had all good days since he has been back. Everyone says he is a different kid! I am pleased and hoping it continues.

My year is going pretty well. I am staying VERY busy!! I am thankful for the three day weekend we are having! I have a busy week ahead of me, but I enjoy it! I can't wait to start seeing my students each week. My days are fast and furious though, but I would rather be busy..... I think. Right now I am almost TOO busy!

I hope the time doesn't fly by too quickly though. I am not ready for the holidays quite yet!

Jacob got his ROTC Uniform

Jacob stayed after school today to get fitted for his ROTC uniform. He told me he might stay and finally texted me around 5:20 asking me to come get him. I finally find him at the school and out he walks with his uniform. He starts telling me all about it. He needs a haircut, because his hair is too long for his hat to fit correctly. He told me about the shoes and what size he got. He just talked and talked. He really likes high school and I am so glad for that.

I'll be sure to get lots of pictures when he does wear the uniform for the first time. He is so excited!

Summer is Winding Down!

Jacob and I have two more weeks of summer and then we both head back to school. I have a week of inservice and he has a week of ROTC. I think he is looking forward to it though. My little sister, who is 19, will be taking care of Elijah that week for me. She will also be getting Jacob back and forth to school for ROTC! Jacob and Elijah both start school on August 23rd. Jacob will be a freshman and Elijah will be in the fourth grade! I start my fourth year as director of the Deaf Ed. program in my district. I do enjoy my summers, but Iam a little ready to get back to work.

We do have a few things to get done before we go back to school. Jacob has his fourteen year old check up tomorrow morning. Elijah and I then go to Children's in Dallas later in the afternoon to visit with the endocronologist. The next week we have dental appointments and a visit to the pulmanologist for both boys.

Jacob will be going to referee school the 6th-9th so that he can ref soccer games this Fall. It will be a good first job for him and he is looking forward to it. He should have a busy freshman year with ROTC and the refereeing. He has already told me that he wants to do EVERYTHING there is in ROTC....we shall see. I am just glad he is motivated by something other than a computer.

Hopefully things will start well with Elijah. I am glad I have video recorded his tics to show his new teacher. It is so hard to explain to people sometimes. He has improved so much in his behavior and I hope it continues.

It has really been a nice summer this year. Last summer was the SUMMER OF DIVORCE! Lots of tears and upset. This summer we have had the beach, wearing a CI and hearing while swimming, car washes with ROTC, and just hanging at home! A lot less stress than this time last year!