the month in review

Wow, I haven't posted since August!

Quick update...

School is going really well. It's crazy insanely unbelievably busy, but it's great. I'm taking four classes, Adult Neurogenic Disorders, Language Disorders birth through preschool, Advanced Articulation and Phonology, and Clinical Ed. I also see student for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a near by school system and also have clients at the clinic associated with Longwood for an hour on Wednesdays. We have clinical team meetings (since we all have such different caseloads, we all get together and talk shop) for an hour most weeks. I just finished up 60 hours of a graduate assistantship in three weeks (no more of that, thank goodness!) I've been doing screenings once a week at an elementary school as well. That assignment is also finished. Starting next week, I go observe/work in a severe to profound classroom in another school system. That also only lasts for three weeks.

Of course, because it's graduate school, there are at least ten chapters of reading a week (looooooooooooooooooong chapters) but fortunately, all of them are really interesting except one book. I'm at school until 8 on Mondays 9 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 6:30 on Wednesdays. I think my Fridays there are done for a while (again, thank goodness!). There are of course assignments in each class, usually about one a week for each (so four), some are just "jot keywords from this chapter" and some are "give an eval to a child, transcribe and write a report". A lot of planning goes into the the sessions with clients at the clinic and students at the high school, but all these hours are worth it. I know its a little early to make this call, but I think I will feel pretty prepared when its time to start my external placements.

I'm learning so so so very much. My clients on Wednesdays are working on Phonological Awareness which is really new to me, but I'm pretty fascinated by it, so I think in the long run it will be really fun. High Schoolers are definitely new to me, but I think I've got them figured out.

The other girls in my program are great. We're not super diverse, but everyone gets along really well and I think we learn a lot from each other, as well as the professors and clients.

Ok, to acknowledge the not so obvious fact that school is not my ENTIRE life, here's an update on the rest of things...
Mike's arm is cast-free and in the midst of physical therapy. It's going well so far I think, he says he can feel new ranges of motion each day. Long road ahead though. His band is scheduled to play again soon and he's been wrapped up in the wonderful world of hokie football. I'm hardly ever home, so he's been living a bit of the bachelor life, but he is so wonderfully supportive. Cooking, cleaning, asking how my classes and clients are going, helping me if I have a problem. I could not ask for a better husband.

Riley is doing great in his new home. He's been running with me every day (although not today, he's been gimping off his back feet a bit, I'm going to let him rest). He slips and slides from time to time around the hardwood floors and was scared of the stairs for a while, but he's all good now.

Families on both sides are doing well!

That's all I have time for...but one last thing, I'm so sorry to anyone if they feel neglected. I knew grad school would be hectic and time consuming, but I have to be honest and say I had no idea it would be to this extent. I think I'm getting the routine down and a better grasp of my weekly responsibilities (read: I can do them faster now) so hopefully soon I'll be able to call more, chat more and even visit! Just bear with me. Thanks for your patience ;) I sound like customer service hahahah