I cheated, I used dogs to make you open up this email. Sorry, not sorry.
And just like that, I stopped paying for Adolpha’s online school tonight.
You may remember that we pulled her out of school about two years ago because the administration was just infuriating. They did not want to do anything to help us help her succeed in school while still battling her bizarre illness(es). In a moment of absolute fury, I pulled her out of the school and signed her up for an online course. She could go at her own pace and she could “miss” class for doctor’s appointments or if she was unwell. Within days of pulling her out of that school, she began to show improvement. She’s continued to improve and back in May she told us she’s ready to go back to school in person. Just not to that previous school. We’ve found her another school that has been really welcoming and understanding. We met with her guidance counselor and went over her schedule and she even completed a summer school class already. The biggest change is that because she didn’t complete enough hours, she’ll be going in as a junior rather than a senior. We actually prefer that. Some other schools just wanted to load her up with a lot of extra online classes in addition to in-person. This way she can go at a regular pace and we get to keep her for an extra year.
We are crossing all of our fingers, toes, and eyes hoping/praying/wishing/manifesting that she does well. She had to overcome some big hurdles to get us to even consider this and she did them all. The biggest one was driving. She couldn’t even begin to think about driving until she’d gone X months without any kind of episode. I was so glad when she crossed that barrier because I’ve gotten lazy and I like staying home in the mornings and not rushing kids to school. I needed her to be able to drive. So, as soon as she was able, we sent her to driving school a few months ago and she got her license.
We see her neuro team next week and I think they’re going to be surprised at the change in her. She’s still dealing with a fuck ton of physical pain, but her emotional stuff has been under control for a while now. We keep pushing to find a cause and a solution for her physical pain, but we keep coming up empty. She’s had CTs, X-rays, ultrasounds, probes, and even swallowed a super cool pill camera so we could get a better look at her innards. The good news is they ruled out scary shit like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis but the bad news is we still can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. The GI has pretty much passed us along. They’ve tried every tool in their toolbox and now we’re being sent to the Pain Clinic. Fingers, et al crossed they can figure her out.
Gomer is doing well with his own health shit. He doesn’t like to talk about it as much as Adolpha does. But he’s managing and learning to live with new gadgets and whatnot. He’s just excited to get back to his sophomore year of college and his frat brothers. He did find a summer job, so that’s fantastic news. Hallelujah!
Speaking of summer jobs…I got a new part-time job. I think it’s going to last longer than the summer, though. I mean, I want it to, so as long as I don’t fuck up, I should last. Right?
Anyhoo, I’m a game show host. Get this, I was searching Indeed for jobs to send to Gomer and I saw one that caught my eye. Something about “do you like entertaining people, are you funny, do you do stand-up?” then apply for this job! I figured, What the hell?
Imagine my surprise when Game Show Battle Rooms offered me the position. So a few hours a week, I head into a studio with a giant wheel and I ask people random questions. It’s really fun and so far I’ve had great groups come through. I’ve had families, friends, couples, and even co-workers.
If you’re interested in booking a party with ME as your host, you just need to give them a call. People keep saying, “When are you working?” I don’t have set hours, I work when there’s work. So, if you pick a date and time that works for YOU, my boss will see if it works for ME. (Spoiler alert, it almost always does.)
I think that’s really all I have to share. My dogs are still dogging. Stan is an angel. He celebrated his 4th birthday this week. Hammy is the devil. He’s not 2 yet. He’s so lucky he’s cute and cuddly because he is a fucking handful and a half. He also sheds like a mofo, which I did not expect. It’s fine, I only wear black clothes and dog hair NEVER shows up on black. Blergh.
I hope you’re having a great summer. I wish no boob sweat or chub rub for you this season. And I’m charging up my neck fan, because holy shit, I’m always hot now.
We LOVE Game Show Battle Room! My wife and I each went there with our friends for our birthdays this past year. We’ll definitely request for you to be our host next time we book 😁
I too have a daughter battling a strange disease. It has caused osteonecrosis (bone death) in both her hips which have been replaced. Ultimately attacked her spinal cord, she is now a tetraplegic. We are prepping now for a knee replacement. This started in her mid-20s and has continued and guess what? It has no fucking name. It’s idiopathic, stressing the idio part. Translation? They have no fucking idea. And there’s pain.
It’s hard to watch a perfect child get dumped on by misfortune that they have done. Nothing to deserve. It’s like putting someone in prison who has done nothing.
I feel for you. Jen, you’re doing a great job. Keep asking questions, keep pushing.