One in a Million

 Can you believe I'm actually going to have the whole weekend off?  In truth, I get 3 days.  I don't know how this worked, but I'm goin' for it.  I am pooped!

Two days this week were tied up in the auction of delinquent accounts.  In one way, it's kind of fun to see what's in there and wonder how much it will sell for.  We anticipate for months what might be stored there.  We had one guy we called "Elvis".  He said he had very expensive items there he did not want to lose.  Alas, he never showed up to pay his bill and it went on the auction block Wednesday.  We were all curious to know . . . let's just say this:  one man's junk is another man's treasure. 

It's also sad to see people's personal items treated as nothing more than "stuff" to sell off.  It may not mean much to you or me, but it may be memories to them.  Usually, the purchasers give us what appears to be personal items like family photos, etc.  But one wonders about the keepsakes stored inside and the feeling of loss the owners may have when they find their things are truly gone.

We had 3 times as many people pay off their bills as lose them to auction.  I made phone calls, wrote nice little notes and attached them to letters asking for payment.  I celebrated with those who managed to get here at the last moment and pay off their debt.  Some have had it and will move their things out of storage so they won't ever get so far behind again.  Others will bank on the phone calls and reminders and pay their rent plus late fees again in several months. 

At any rate, it has been a stressful week.  Andrea went this morning for long-awaited testing to see what kind of help she needs in school.  As many of you know, we tried 3 times last year to get the testing done because we were very worried about her ability to learn. Last year we felt like they were just trying to get us to put her in school with them and looking down on us for home schooling her. This school year, I insisted on further testing so I would know how to help her.

Poor Andrea! She tries so hard, but cannot remember what we have taught her or what she has read. She is so talented in many areas that we have been expecting a lot from her. She is perfectly bi-lingual and can translate conversations while they are going on. That is a special skill that not too many people have. She also has wonderful people skills. Most everyone who meets her likes her right away. She just has this crummy memory. Anyway, the psychologist met with us and with her this morning. After meeting him, I came to work and Rob went home to wait for the call to pick her up.

We have some answers now. I feel a little sad, well, a lot sad. No one wants their child to be learning disabled. Andrea is considerably below average. I kind of expected this. We have worked so hard to make a very tiny amount of progress with her. I held out hope that it was language-associated, but it really is not. There may be a component of that, but for the most part, her premature birth and months of starvation have taken their toll on her ability to learn. The psychologist says they will do a bit more testing and come up with a plan we can all live with. She will finally get the help she needs. Hopefully that will end the terrible frustration that she has. It's not fair, really. We have such high hopes for our children and when a stranger to us comes along to tell us that she's not quite up to snuff, it hurts.

Here's the deal. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've had to look at things a different way to make sense of them, but it's worked out every time. We have to keep on praying for her and work diligently with her and she will help us have a new pair of glasses where she is concerned. We will be able to see clearly soon.

Andrea is a true blessing to our lives. She is sensitive, caring and for the most part obedient. Like all children, she can be a stinker at times, but there is no other child we would love as much. She's one in a million.

I hope you and all the blessings in your life have a wonderful weekend.  We are going to the air show tomorrow.  Pictures to follow.

Blessings,