Okay...I took my first online quiz for my first totally online class. My Compensations and Benefits class. One of the females in my class group had reported taking it on Friday and she failed it...she said it was the first time she had ever failed anything. So, that made the rest of us nervous. I read and read and read those two chapters to make sure I comprehended them...not memorized or blindly took notes...I NEED to comprehend and understand this stuff if I am going to have a job in HR...right? So, I was pretty confident in my knowledge.

I brought up the quiz and went down through it. We had 45 minutes to complete it before it shut itself down and it was submitted. I got it done in 15 minutes...then I took my time rereading it...caught a couple of errors, fixed them...then submitted it. You get instant results cuz it is one of those crappy multiple choice things. I hate those. I'd rather have short essay and synthesis ANY day...then I can use my level of comprehension to HELP me. Too many choices make me second guess myself and it can spell trouble.

So... While I didn't REALLY fail...to ME it was failing. I got a MID-C!!!! I have NEVER done worse than a MID-B!!!!

While I finished higher than the class average, it is NO consulation. I just heard from another one of my group members...she did about as well as I did.

This is going to be a VERY long semester.

I missed the whole music crawl thingy tonight. I am getting ready to find my pillow and get some rest. I have spent the better part of today and tonight pouring through books and taking notes. I have to get up early in the morning and do a few online quizzes.

This reading/studying/writing thing wouldn't take so long if I wasn't constantly interrupted! My husband is the WORST offender! I finally looked at him today when he wanted me to see something else on the TV (for about the 12th time) that he felt I just NEEDED to see..and I said, "You know...I'm studying! That's nice but I am trying to concentrate here!" I finally gathered everything up and went off down the hall towards our bedroom with the pronouncement..."I'm going down HERE where I might get some peace and QUIET...HINT HINT!"

Studying, of course, is interrupted by laundry, doing dishes, getting dinner...etc, etc....

I could have had some of this done during the week if I hadn't had to spend so much time on the phone with school, doctors, taking the kids to be examined...get shots...pick up prescriptions...take care of the gardens...This is nothing like the first time I went to college...when there was just ME to take care of...I could nibble on graham crackers and drink gallons of coffee. My clothes got done at the laundromat once a week all at once and I could write a paper while I waited. I shared small apartments with a roommate and we actually took turns with the sweeping and dusting. Not a big deal.

And I have been contemplating getting a part-time job on top of it all. Well, I will be done with one of my classes in 6 more weeks. Maybe I can pick up a few hours for the holiday set-up stuff. I just want to get some financial things out of the way.

Anywears...I guess I'm off like a dirty shirt....nytol!

So, I was frustrated beyond a point that I could stand earlier today. (read previous post, please)

I called my son's guidance counselor near the end of the day to see if she had looked in on him...if he was in class, etc. She said when she saw him he was working in lab and she just told him to just talk to his teachers and make arrangements to get things caught up...just get to school.

I got a call from TJ when school let out. He sounded so much better than this morning. He relayed how his day went...the work he will be doing at home this weekend...and next week. But he sounded positive about it. AND...he thanked me. He THANKED me for kicking his butt this morning and MAKING him face it...not letting him wimp out, back down. He told me that I did what I had to do for his own good and he APPRECIATED it! He said that he can do this...he just needs to know I'm there and I will kick his butt every now and then when he needs it.

I was overwhelmed. Just SO overwhelmed...I STILL am. It still brings tears to my eyes.

The ONE thing my family has ALWAYS been able to count on is me being there for them. I will stand and fight for them, hold my ground, find solutions...and, yes, kick butt if I have to. I learned THAT from MY mom.

I have been calm and focused on things all week...I even had to calm down Troy a few times. I had to calm down the guidance counselor. I had to talk TJ through getting out of his car and making it across that parking lot and into the school. I had to convince him that he COULD do it...he MUST do it...there was no turning back. And, I might have felt frustrated but I didn't get anxious. And that, my friends, is due to prayer. God is giving me the strength, the courage to do what I have to do. And I am seeing some pay off.

God has also been helping me focus through everything to be able to do some really good stuff as far as my classes. I may not like my Labor Relations class and I may not be thrilled with my Benefits and Compensation class teacher(dude, lighten up...it isn't like saving the world!) but I am making it. I am finally starting to envision a decent future for my son and myself. After today, I think he is going to be okay. There is still going to be more work involved but he is making some headway.

Oh, and he brought home an application for a part-time job at a store that his little red-headed love interest works at. She gave it to him. Her name is Maggie and he is entranced by her for many reasons...they have a lot of the same interests but there is a rather odd point that he is really taken with about her...she is still a virgin. He said it is really difficult to find a girl that is 16/17 years old and is still a virgin. Isn't that just SAD? He thinks she is just cool. And they are friends...pals...first. Oh...the store? It is only going to be a temporary thing...a couple months...cuz it pops up every year at this time then disappears by November...The Halloween Store. I just told TJ if he gets a job there to make sure to bring his paycheck home...and not merchandise.

I guess I should be spending more time praying or something.

Getting my son to school today was a MAJOR feat. Next week is going to be horrible...Troy will be out of town...I will probably have to take him back and forth to school each day myself...not let him drive. I know he is sick...but he got his double antibiotic shot yesterday and last night he was just dancing around (figuratively...not literally) and joking and laughing and just acting and looking so much better. This morning it was back to the whole nausea thing. I pushed him out the door into his car and his dad was up by then...he didn't dare give me anymore of a hard time. He called part way to school...I did the chicken chit thing and let his dad take the call...he called TWICE. Well, more than twice...Troy took the first two calls. The third time he called me from the school parking lot to tell me how bad he felt...and I had to get after him....it is NOT all the sinus infection...he was good last night...he is letting it take over...He told me that he WANTS to go to the school...I told him that if that is true then he HAS to find a way to get over top of it all...not let his body and the anxieties in his mind ruin his life. He had to get in the school and make some kind of an effort...cuz if he doesn't DO something they will kick him out...and he is done. He will be a drop out becuz cyber school wasn't working and it would be a damn shame to waste his brain that way. He is better than that.

His biggest enemy is his own mind. It is all up to him from here on out...I have done EVERYTHING that I can...the doctor has given him everything he can...this kid just is fighting himself.

We can't really monetarily afford this now but the only other thing I know of is to call this Christian psychologist that I have a name and number for...he specializes in ppl with anxiety disorders. I have exhausted all other avenues.

Took TJ to the doctor's for another double shot of antibiotics. Tonight he is finally starting to look and act like himself...it must have done some good. But my daughter and I are having some nasty allergy problems. Oh, well. We will get through it.

Missed my daughter's first time to play with the band at a football game last night. I had class. I will have to wait until the Mum Festival Parade. Sept. 22nd. Yippee skippee.

Finished my first online class group project tonight. I was responsible (actually, I volunteered since the other two dolts weren't doing ANYTHING) for chapter 2 questions. Another female in our group had done chapter 1 questions. Chapter 2 questions required some outside the book research and the questions had MANY parts to be addressed. BUT, I surprised them with how thorough and indepth I got with it. I am patting myself on the back as well.

Now I only have 2-one page papers to write on labor relations...different topics...two quizzes to take, 2 discussions to post...all before next Tuesday. Hey...I can do it. I got the worst one out of the way...although the one female in my group said she failed the quiz for the Compensation and Benefits class... Now we are ALL afraid to take it.

Oh, and my Labor Relations 'presenter' told me I am in charge of bringing donuts to class next week. What happens if I don't eat them? I suppose not everyone else should suffer just becuz I am not a donut eater. I will take my lowfat muffin OR my fat free cereal bar...and make them all feel bad cuz they are scarfing donuts.

Ciao!