Dailies #10

Sorry it's been song long - parenting long distance and also keeping up with work, a son in football and another teen, is exhausting - but enough complaints - I should be giving thanks instead. David is doing well - he did have a rough week, missing two of his 7:30 classes - he said he couldn't sleep all night - I think he was manic - probably from skipping meds - he wanted to drop the class because, as I mentioned before, he is a perfectionist when it comes to school work. I explained to him that he couldn't - he would fall below full time status and injure his scholarship and grant status - so instead he e-mailed his instructor about his mental illness and then had his councilor at the Office of Disability send a letter about his problems. The result shows that David getting accepted into the Disability program was the most important step in attending college - he was able to make up the work and now is back on track - the other great thing about his Disability status is that he received one of the first windows of registration for winter quarter - I prompted him to pick his classes and then I went online and registered for him - next quarter he only has class four days a week instead of five and no class starts before 12:30.
He as usual still has what I would call "odd moments" - a couple of days ago he made his, at least daily phone call in the evening - he said "it was pretty cold today" - then he went on to say that between classes he had sat outside for two hours reading the Iliad - I asked why he didn't go into a coffee shop or library - he replied that he didn't have any money and that libraries were now obsolete - I pictured him sitting on the stairs somewhere on that huge campus, his long hair (he still refuses to have it cut) hanging in his face, reading Homer - I just wanted to give him a long hug - but since I am here and he is there - I settled for explaining that there are libraries at OSU - books haven't gone the way of the horse and buggy yet - promised to put money in his account the next day and told him that I loved him


Here is a story that demonstrates the importance of educating the general public about mental illness - I also thought it was interesting that the girl had a service dog - I had never read about one being used for such a role - but it makes sense

Wal-Mart turns away helper dog -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY