Message from the front

So much has happened and has been going on that I think I'm just gonna make a list or something about each family member to get it caught up.



Tyler - we went and got his test results and they say he is a for sure narcolepsy/cataplexy guy. As 100% positive as they can possibly ever be with the types of tests they are able to give. And that we can continue experimenting with medications and mixes of medications to try to stop the cataplexy from happening often. But that we can never stop it happening completely. Kinda depressing. But we're going to not look at it in a depressing way. We're looking at it as just something we're going to have to work around. Like needing contacts or something. Dr. says people with narcolepsy drive all the time they just have limitations on their licenses about how long that can drive at a time and that they need to be on meds, and such. But he wants us to wait a bit longer on the license issue. Tyler has been a good sport about it. But he does get down about it sometimes and believes he will NEVER be allowed to drive. His grades are good this year so far, and no problems with teachers. He's hanging out with people he enjoys even if it's not necessarily what I have in mind for him to be doing. But we've decided to let him be as he is for now. Because the main point is that Tyler is happy, pleasant, mostly optimistic, and lots of fun to be around these days and we are so thankful after the last year or so of his life when he felt so miserable, alone, and isolated and SLEEPY. He's gotten medicine to help him see the world in a better light and has found friends who enjoy hanging with him in spite of any irritability and hangups he has over his illness. For once in the last year or two I am seeing him happy again, and seeing him feel like he is a normal teenager. All he wants to be is a normal guy in the background of a normal setting, but wants people he trusts to be with him at all times. And Tyler is someone who is always going to transcend himself above what any or everyone else thinks his life should be. And although sometimes my heart breaks for him in daily decisions he makes but at the same time, I'm ALWAYS proud of him. And often proud of his reasons for making such decisions even though I may not always totally get them. So, basically, things are ok with Tyler right now. It's just a matter of getting the drivers license I guess. And a matter of mom (me) coming to terms with his individualism!!!!!



Anyway. Tanner is doing wonderfully. He is so in tune with peoples' needs and wants, so intuitive. He's definitely one of the sweetest people ever born. He and Brooke signed up for band. Tanner is playing trumpet, Brooke playing saxophone. They're tooting along these last couple of weeks trying to learn to play. They'll be awesome in no time! I think they are both doing well in school so far too.

Rusty is doing well. He's still being pretty supportive and understanding of all I have to do so far. That's good, for him. He's about the same as he always is otherwise, happy go lucky Rusty!



Me - well, I'm just run flat ragged. I can't finish one thing without somebody throwing the next thing on me. Myself has disappeared and I don't expect to see her til May. I absolutely can not cope with my job, house, and family all at one time. I can do two of them or one of them. but I can not keep up with all 3. I have to learn to, or somethings gotta give. I'm working so hard at school this year, it's really wearing me out! How tiring could being a choir director be?????? Well it's tiring, nerve-wrecking, stress-inducing, life-consuming, and every other thing like that. It's mainly because I"m building a program from the BOTTOM up and I want to demonstrate some MAJOR, IMMEDIATE results to the whole community. I want people to say...........hey, now VHS has someone that's actually DOING something!!!!!! Tyler and Tanner have actually been trying to help me out some just because they feel sorry for me lol. Bless their hearts, they really do take notice of how hard I'm having to work. But it's just not been quite enough yet. They can only do so much, bless their hearts, but I appreciate and see everything they do. I have to preach so much all the time at work, I have to BEG kids to bring in MONEY. I have to start fundraisers and pray to God they go sell the stuff so we meet the minimum order. I have to beg and PLEAD for them to pay their choir fee. I have to collect all this money and keep it in separate accounts and do tons of paperwork on every penny I take in so it will always be more than obvious where the choir money goes. Fundraising never ends. And we did a car wash today that went well. But I lost a Saturday at home. But we made $263.00 which was far beyond my expectations. Rusty came out and stood watch over me just in case any kids brought other kids of shady character that I didnt' know and gosh knows what might have gone on, etc. But everything went very well. I was still glad for his watchful eye though lol. I still don't know what to expect with these teenagers. I have a Madrigal Singe Feaste to begin planning for RIGHT NOW and I have no clue what kids I can count on to help me with it. I think I"m putting my kids and my nephews and neices in it somehow. I have to have kids I know will show up! The tickets will be $25 per person and I gotta sell 175 of those to pay for the cost of the auditorium and the catering. Yall Vicksburg people, PLEASE buy a Singe Feaste ticket, you'll love the show! As soon as we start working on it. We're doing a Rock Band tournament for a fundraiser here in a few weeks. That will be FUN!!!!! And hopefully profitable. If anyone knows of a good fundraiser PLEASE let me know asap. I need to raise around $1800 more dollars right now. Ugh! I have my irons in too many fires and probably just need to vent. Most of my job worries all have to do with $$$$$$$$$. It's tough enough to try to manage my own personal family budget. In the last month I've forgotten the cable bill twice (once I tried to pay it when I'd already paid it 3 days before and forgotten I did it) and the water bill once and who knows what else. But trying to manage the many and varied choir budgets is definitely difficult, even with the very little amount of money I have to manage! lol Basically, I just need the district to give me a $10,000 budget and I'd be fine.

Basically most of my stress and problems stem from the fact that EVERY SINGLE THING I DO is for the FIRST TIME. NOTHING I do is something that I've been through or experienced before. I can't even make predictions based on previous experience because I have NONE. And no other choir directors at my school before me have done ANYTHING to speak of, and have left no track record or anything that I can use as base knowledge. Every single day, every single lesson, every single project, is TOTALLY NEW AND UNEXPLORED TERRITORY. My plans might be totally successful or might be a TOTAL FLOP!!!!! There's no way to ever know!!!!!! Ok time to stop talking about it.



We're still doing band each week. Couple of nights of week in between that time that I get home from work and that time when my head crashes against the pillow. Somewhere in between those moments we're accomplishing band rehearsals. And they're going ok best I can tell. I think we might play somewhere soon.

It's been 6 weeks into school. And I believe I can say I've been a basic success at work. People are talking and it's all good from what I can tell. But I'm in serious need of a vacation, and I haven't even gotten to the DIFFICULT parts yet. Geez! I've kind of gotten the feeling, or the "hint", that I'm not doing as well as I should be on making guys tuck their shirts in and making kids keep their cell phones put away. For GOD'S SAKE!!!! So I've had to become meaner than I want to be in the last week. Either that, or I get myself in trouble. But the kids are taking it pretty well. I explained to them that I'm going to have to become tougher on shirt tails and cell phones and that's just the way it is. And anyone who chooses to continue with shirt tails out and cell phone usuage (texting) in class is just making a choice for trouble and can only blame themselves. Gosh. As if I don't have tons of more important things to tend to. But I gotta do like they say or else. Apparently I got back on the topic of work. So, moving on again......

Ok let's see what else. My video camera broke this week. My kitchen sink stopped up and we still haven't gotten it fixed. Mom has cooked dinner on Tuesday nights several times in the last week and it's been AWESOME! She cooked last Sunday as well. Hope she knows how much we've appreciated it. Because since school started I don't cook on week nights. The kids know how to make frozen pizzas, egg rolls, pot pies, sandwiches, and so on lol. Tanner and Brooke have been hanging out a lot together and enjoying each other's company. I wonder sometimes how many days in a row it would take before they got sick of each other. Dusty and Cody have been over several times. Terri is doing well, she passed her nursing exam!!!!

WEll I'm hoping by the next post I can be less self-absorbed lol. Sooner or later all this newness is going to wear off and my job will be just another day, another dollar. But then I keep thinking back to the choir director at our other high school in town telling me......."I hope you realize that from now on you have NO LIFE". I'm willing to accept that for just this one year. But I can't do it any longer than one year. After this year, I must be able to have a life in addition to work. If not, then I'm going to have to change to something else!~ Be a cashier at Wal Mart or something! lol.......(do cashiers make much???? If so, I'll go NOW!!!!!)

I'm going to just post this now so I can go on to view the lakehouse blog and Brandon and Christie's blog. I totally enjoy reading everyone's blog and I'm hoping and wishing that everyone in the family will someday have one. Susan needs to post more than every July lol. I apologize for my blogs being so self-involved these last couple of posts but sometimes it's my only venting place lol. I'm going to aim to have more pictures and/or videos for the next post. I have a really awesome group at school that I think I can record. Plus Brooke and Tanner and Tyler and Kyle and Blake and who knows what all. As for this month, my camera has pretty much sat on the shelf. But next time, I'll have something. While I'm thinking about it, come hell or high water I am going to Dustin's wedding. I'll find a sub or whatever I gotta do but that's something I want to be at. I enjoyed Brandon's beautiful wedding and will do the same at Dustin's. I don't do many weddings, but that's one I'll be at!

Hope everyone has endured the hurricanes. I know Alabama/Georgia hasn't seen much of anything to speak of, as far as I know. We've had a bit here - last week as well as today and the next few days. Nothing major, no Katrina's or anything lol. But, here's to surviving the remaining days of hurricane season 2008!!!!

I'm waiting to see new pics of the lakehouse. And new pics of babies. I'm ready for May/June and the first lakehouse trip of the year where I can lay on an air mattress and say to hell with the world!!!!!!!!