School's out for summer!

This is my first entry for the EtsyBloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. There were two topics to choose from and I chose:

1. Schools Out For Summer! What are your summer plans or share your favorite end of the school year story.

My favorite end of the school year story would have to be last year, 2008. I wasn't in school but our youngest daughter graduated from high school last year. She has suffered from some physical issues that prevented her from attending school quite a few times over the years (asthma, migraines and female issues) and even with a note from our family doctor and working with the teachers and her counselor she fell so far behind in her Junior year of high school it was questionable whether or not she would have enough credits to graduate. She attended summer school the summer of 2007 to get credit for her American History class which was required for graduation. She was furious with me at first for signing her up for summer school but it was only three weeks, it was only for 4 hours each morning and it would get her the missed credits she needed to be able to graduate with her class in 2008. After the first class that summer she walked from the high school to my office and informed me that there were some straight A students attending summer school! She loved the teacher and the style of the class. Basically you got a packet of stuff, you read the information, took the test and if you passed you got the next packet. She breezed through the information, got an A+ in the class, finished the class almost a week early and got to help her counselor in her office for the remainder of the summer school session. That summer showed her that when she was able to attend on a regular basis and when she was engaged and relaxed she could ace the class without any problems. Her senior year, she knew she couldn't have any issues with credits so she diligently checked her assignments and grades for each and every class. Numerous times she noticed that the teacher had forgotten to enter her grades in the computer so she would immediately contact the teacher, show them the paper with the grade on it and have them enter the grade into the computer right then and there. We began to wonder if this didn't happen numerous times throughout her Junior year because she insisted that she completed ALL of the work in the time allowed to her by the teachers but felt they weren't giving her credit for it. At any rate, she learned a very valuable lesson through all this - never trust someone else to watch out for you, you must follow up and ensure that your efforts are recognized! So, you can see why we were so thrilled when she graduated with her class last May.

I made the decision to work in the town our daughter was attending school because I wanted to be there in case she needed medical assistance, which she did numerous times over the years of her school attendance. With asthma you don't have time to wait for help, you need it immediately or you can die - that was a huge incentive for me to basically give up the career I had in commercial construction and opt for working for a small home builder in a small town instead. I don't regret my decision and I loved that we were able to eat lunch together almost every day during her high school years. I would pick her up from school at lunch time, we would either go get something "fast food" to eat or I always had things to eat in the refrigerator and freezer at work (the office was located in a little log home in town) so we would eat lunch together and I would get her back to school in time for her next class. This way she could relax, eat a decent lunch, stay hydrated, use the restroom, etc. and be back for the next class without any hassles.

Because it is 25 miles one way into town and because our daughter was no longer attending school in town I made the decision to "retire" from my "real job" and do our llama ranch and my fiber business full time. I am celebrating my one year anniversary of my "retirement" and loving every minute of it! I love being here to take care of the animals, I'm here for llama births, if I have a horse or llama exhibiting signs of distress or illness I can be here to monitor, treat or request vet assistance right away. And, I have more time to spin, card fibers, dye fibers, knit, crochet, market my products and relax.

Yep, 2008 end of school was definitely the best ever!