Contentment

Okay, much happier. I'm at home.

The drive was long...about 10 hours the first day and then 9 hours the next day, but we stopped to look at my mom's house, our old church, the restaurant where Mr worked for something like 7 years. We stopped to see our middle child for dinner---she took a thirty minute break to come eat with some tex-mex with us--yum.
Our first born was trying to drive up to meet us, but he didn't get out of town in time. So we told him to turn back around because we were soon to leave the restaurant. He ended up stopping midway and visited a girl from our old church who goes to a college about an hour from home. They had dinner and a movie. I haven't talked to him yet, but he probably thought that was more fun than seeing his ole mum.
But I came home and watched "Iron Chefs" with my youngest and some plastic surgery show after unpacking. Took a walk. Went to bed. I'm still not ready for the day and it is 11 am. Nice slow pace. I've got a lot to do and if I were really up on things, I would sure love to meet my friends for lunch and prayer, but I am too lazy to call at this point.

I still haven't finished the quarter (we don't have semesters up there, we have quarters, only 10 rushed weeks to finish an incredible amount of work) because I turned in a final paper unfinished. I never would have thought I'd do such a thing, but there you go---I did!

I really really tried to quit my last week and Mr would hear none of it. I accused him of callousness and so he relented. But now that I am out, yep, I am okay with going back. I really think that the next semester will be more fun. My classes will be Field Methods, Social Bio something and Child Development.

Field Methods is where we go somewhere----this particular professor has an education focus, so say a 1st grade class, a community college, high school class, or it could be a bar (I wouldn't do a bar, but some classmates wanted to), a church (more my style), or a playground. You have to observe everything for two hours as a participant observer meaning you are engaged with the other people doing the same things or something (so how could you do that in a 1st grade class??) and then you write copious notes on and on for about four hours a week. Then you write an official report. All of that should be fun and interesting. I observed my friends children one day, four of them and it DID take hours and hours to write up the notes! I video taped them, which helped. But it was a final project that took a few weeks, not just something I did every week for 10 weeks, but that is how graduate school is.

I really thought that the classes would only be about twice as hard. And while I cannot give a sort of measure, sometimes they are about that and sometimes it is worse! Then every now and then there is some light week. But I don't think I ever actually completed every single thing I was supposed to do in a week EVER. In the 10 weeks, I was always short----whereas normally, I am ahead. I learned a lot about myself---all bad stuff.

I suppose the hardship builds character. We'll see! I think I have humiliated myself. I whined nearly the whole time.
but supposedly, all the other graduate students have a similar story. They all cried in their first semester.
I don't think my cohort all cried. M might have cried, I don't think L cried and I don't think D cried. I can't see C crying, she was always composed. and the guy was always fairly even keel. He doesn't likely cry ever. (can't be sure about that sort of thing, but I know my guy just never cries! quite unlike me....)

I only officially cried maybe three or four times. Two big ones and then some snivelling at the end. Now I can laugh about it. I'm so dramatic.

I think I'll take a nap. AFTER I call the people about my speeding ticket in August when I went to help move my mom. I was supposed to complete the drivers education course before December fourth and well, today is the 7th.
I'll go call them now.
Blessings! It is warming up to be a Merry Christmas! I love the warmth here and I enjoyed the cold there. It was so complex and new!