Spring is finally here! It's a beautiful day, the birds are out, the boys are fishing, and M is at the beach for dryland training. We're going to church in a little while to set up some of the rooms for displaced families, a position for which I volunteered but have not quite figured out. But this will be my second time helping, and my first time "doing." And M needs her National Honor Society hours.
In M's world, school is almost over. She has one more AP exam to take, on Monday, and then she will consider herself "done with high school." (Even though her last day is over a month away.) Seniors don't have to take the finals in non-AP classes if their averages are A's, and she only has two non-AP classes, which she thinks are both A's. (one is gym) So she looks forward to the summer, her job, and orientation in July in Boston.
We're in a quandary over whether or not to go to the national meet. This year it's in Georgia, which will cause it to cost us well over $1000 for her, and another $1000 if even one person goes to watch. Not so good when we're trying to figure out how to pay the tuition for next year. Her coach-to-be said he doesn't mind if they don't do meets in the summer, he just wants them to train consistently. So she has to decide and we have to see. She thought of going for a couple of days but her coach may consider it all-or-nothing. She'd also lose a week of work pay in addition to the cost (as would I if I chose to attend). They want us to decide by the end of the weekend. This won't leave much money or time for a family vacation either.
As for B's summer plans, we sent off an application to volunteer at a local hospital. We were going to send in for a different one, but the paperwork was UNREAL, like he was applying for homeland security clearance. It was so cumbersome, and I would have had to pay for a two step TB test (so two copays instead of one.) The hospital we sent the paperwork to had only a one-sheet paper, and they said he would need that TB test but could have it done at their facilities. So we'll see what they come back with, they have actually been taken over by the group that uses the giant application, just haven't implemented it yet, I guess.
I actually had to write out an envelope even though it said one was enclosed. I sent that off thinking they were so disorganized, and this morning I found the envelope in one of my serving bowls on the bakers rack (Kevin thinks they're storage containers.) So who is disorganized now? Hope they still 'hire' B!
Also, he will do a couple of classes at the community college, one in writing and another in algebra review. He's been in this math tutoring center all year and while I'm sure it's boosted his math skills overall, lately it's not helping him with the tests in geometry. I think the tutors are more geared towards elementary math and possibly high school geometry skills are hit or miss, depending on what they actually remember. It's not part of the center's normal program. So next year I don't want to have to send him there, and I'm hoping a refresher course before the school year starts will give him that boost.
In animal news, Abby is doing very well except for her propensity to consume houseguests and people we encounter on our walks. She also enjoys a good terrorization of people who have just thrown out their poop bags at the dog park, when they spin around she seems to take it personally.
I'm becoming hesitant to take her, because although she never bares her teeth or lunges, she does bark very loudly and all her back hair stands on end. So tomorrow we're having a trainer spend an hour and a half with us to see if she can give us some tips on how to deal with it. I also suspect Sir Yapsalot is part of the problem. He just never shuts up and it's very obnoxious. But not scary at all. So that's why he's been allowed to get away with it. I wonder if the therapy session will end up more focused on his behaviors. Abby is very anxious to please, when she isn't afraid.
And in other news, our neighborhood is currently embroiled in a battle with the builder of a proposed mongo-development directly next to our little hamlet. The property, a former office complex which was rezoned for residential units, is going to house multifamily buildings which are totally out of character for this part of town. We have mostly two lane roads, no turning arrows at most of the intersections, and not really a large supermarket or school to handle the new influx of over 300 new resident families. Mostly what I'm worried about, traffic aside, is that this will cause a further plummeting of property values, which never seems to be accompanied by plummeting property tax bills. Good thing we weren't planning to try to sell the house anytime soon anyway because now it looks as if we will be stuck here for a while!
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