These Trying Times

I added a link at the upper right corner for Webs of Thread to make it easier to get there from here.  I'll probably add a quilty post over there later this evening. 

It's hard to believe it's been almost 3 1/2 months since Marty lost his job.  The reality of how that is changing, and has changed our lives hits every day.  For me, often in fighting off depressive moods.  His severance pay was only for 16 weeks and that's about up, and the added cost of COBRA insurance eats up just about every dime of unemployment.  

Today's depressive trigger was facing that it is time to begin the process of Nick's transition from his very small private school, where he's been since his first day of kindergarten, to his placement at our district's public high school, which is bigger than the entire town I grew up in.  It's a daunting thought that my sheltered son will be thrown into a lion's den.  My view, not his as he has wanted this since before school started.  But I'm the one who knows what's best for my son, not the 15-year old who hasn't been through all the ugly experiences of life.  And yet, I must let him go, and pray that my loving Father will watch over him.  As one of the ladies in the school office told me today, "God is there too."  And truly He is, and as his parents, Marty and I still have at-home responsibilities for his guidance and maturity in the things of the Lord. 

For now, it's advising one school, gathering info at the other, and in the few weeks between the Thanksgiving break and Christmas (or sadly as the new school calls it: Winter Break) we will make sure he gets registered and he gets placed in the necessary classes; that books get returned and new ones issued.  As the public school doesn't offer AP Biology until his sophomore year, I had to find out if he'd be able to continue with the Sophomores (he's a Freshman) or if he'd lose 1/2 a year of that study.  He can join them! Yay! 

It was also a day to head to Costco again.  There were times that was a bit discouraging as there were some things that I might have placed in my cart if Marty were working, but I didn't.  All the wonderful holiday foodstuffs are overflowing the shelves at the stores.  I did splurge on a tub of red vines.  I've been craving something sweet and we haven't had many sweets here other than the Brownie Bites, but I try to leave those for Nick's sack lunches that he takes to school.  One of the best deals at Costco is their rotisseried chicken.  We can get several meals from one $4.99 chicken, AND it's already cooked and seasoned!  They also had bottles of Johnny's garlic seasoning which I haven't seen since I bought some a few years ago and was nearly out of, so I bought another one.  It's yummy sprinkled on buttered bread for garlic toast, or occasionally on pasta or vegetables.

I'll be back later with my Webs of Thread post. See you then.