What a week this has been. Monday and Tuesday were interesting, as they were the final days that I was to have a part time job through the Seattle Police Department as a crossing guard. There was also a lot of preparation necessary to get my oldest son ready for his arrival home from reform school (that story begins here) as well as getting things ready for his departure to college where he will be participating in the summer program as a head start.
On top of these preparations, there is the already hectic home life of having four children under the age of 7, one being less than two months old. Things in this regard, however, are going much better than anticipated. Xavier, our youngest, is actually sleeping for long stretches at a time. This is a massive accomplishment, and a gift which we are appreciative of every night.
Wednesday, however, would prove to take the week into darker territory. My youngest brother Kagan got into an automobile accident. It wasn’t bad and nobody was seriously injured, but I wound up helping him get it all sorted. First there was comforting him (he was in a bit of shock) and getting his car towed off the freeway. Then we tried to get him to a clinic to be seen by a doctor. While there wasn’t any trauma, an examination still needed to be performed. Unfortunately it took three different clinics before he would be seen. Then I had to get home and get the family fed and kids in bed, etc.
Fortunately that day ended well enough except for another trip out as I had to pick Kagan up and drive him home as his roommate who had met him at the clinic had to leave for work. This was fine, realy, as I was able to gauge how he was doing as opposed to 7 hours previously. His attitude had improved, as well as his cognition and coherence.
Thursday was an odd day, as it started out with a trip to the Seattle Police Department to turn in my crossing guard equipment. There was a meeting of all the crossing guards, and it turns out the Seattle School District is planning to hire the unit. While there will be a bit of a pay cut as well as a loss of some other benefits, the fact that I’ll be able to keep this position is good news. After the meeting, where I picked up my application packet (because technically, I was applying for a new job at a different branch of government) I went down to the airport to pick up my oldest son.
It’s been a long and arduous journey with Kyle, but now we are seeing some positive direction on his part. He finished the high school program at the reform school he was at, and did so as Valedictorian. Even though he was away from home he still pulled in the grades necessary to get the job done. While he never truly bought into the program at the reform school, he stuck it out and graduated. Last November we applied to the next level of his education, spending the entire 10 days of his home visit filling out applications – literally. The morning of his flight back to reform school we were working on paperwork. Ultimately he would be accepted into 8 colleges or universities, and he chose Gonzaga. I’m sure I’ll blog about this in the future, but I’m glad he’s going there. And as I told him, “It’s better to choose the college than have the college choose you.”
Shopping for supplies, getting his new computer ready, packing, and even a little World Cup action filled the rest of Thursday and Friday. We filled out paperwork as well as filled out stuff online and established a bank account for him to access (that we control, which is better than simply writing him a blank check every month). Saturday we leave early for the airport to Spokane. Sure, it’s only a 5 hour drive (depending on how you drive) but the car situation at our house is such that I can’t leave Laura and the kids home without the van, and that’s the car I would have to take. We all can’t drive over there because there’s a 3-on-3 basketball tournament taking place this weekend, and hotel rooms are at a premium, if they could be found at all. We simply didn’t have a place for the whole family to stay.
As I type this, Friday is winding down. There have been plenty of preparations for college put on hold that we’ve had to rush through as Kyle wasn’t around, and more that we’re going to wait until the month of August when his Summer program is finished and he’s home for a lengthy visit before the Fall quarter begins. Tonight, we’ll most likely chit chat, maybe watch some television, and go to bed early for a big day tomorrow – moving into the dorms and the USA versus Ghana in the World Cup.