Community College

Community College (for my international friends) is usually a 2 year program after high school though Naomi will probably be there 4 years to get her degree in nursing. They accept everyone who applies but do have certain requirements to get in certain programs. Usually it is much less money per credit hour than even state-supported 4 year schools. Enrollment now is bursting at the seams due to a return of jobless, older students who need retraining and the many families that can not afford the tuition of a 4 year school. Also it is possible to switch to a 4 year school after 2 years, which ends up saving quite a bit of money. Still I had a hard time accepting that a community college was where Naomi needed to go. When I was in college, I assumed that people who went to them were too stupid to get into a good school. I was very eager to get away from home so having to go to a community college (always for commuters)would really have been sad for me. I believe one grows up so much more away from home but Naomi is not ready for that. We did send the older kids away even though Shanna went to UM in a dorm 5 miles away from us. Josh came home every weekend from his school to see his girlfriend Julia who for a while, stayed with us while he was away. Her parents had moved out of state.

With the economy so bad for everyone, the stigma isn't so strong as it once was. Today Naomi brought an ex-teammate from her travelling volleyball team home for lunch that she found at her school. On travelling teams, you really get to know the parents because you end up with them for entire weekends away from home. I knew from her mother that this girl was a top student who could get in many places but I suspect the economy has forced them to downsize expectations. The girl said that half of her graduating class is at WCC so she is not alone. The class sizes are small at WCC so the kids get some individual attention instead of the 500 person lectures at UM.

I can't believe it is September. Although time really dragged on during those bleak winter months that I got chemo, it has flew since then. On 9-10, it will be a year that I was in the land of cancer. I can't say that I have fully recovered though my oil glands, most of my energy, and some of my hair is back. At a rest stop the other day, a woman was struggling with snarls in her hair and looked at me saying that she wished she would just cut off her hair like I did. She really liked my hair style. I didn't say that it has been 14 months since my last hair cut. Instead of being blondish-white, it is more salt and pepper. It is also wavy and grows away from my head instead of lying flat (if I had let it-I used plenty of products and blowdrying so it wouldn't be flat). My lower eyelashes are long again though the uppers are only half-length. My eyebrows are gradually filling in again.

It was only 37 deg yesterday morning though the temp climbed to 75. This cool, dry weather is easy to run in, which I have been doing since I've returned. All the rain we had in my absence has not been good for my petunias, geraniums, and morning glories. My hibiscus is covered with blossoms though. The zinnias and cosmos are doing OK.

Poor Spud! Cutting his nails really upsets him. I needed a cool day to cut them so he wouldn't hyperventilate and also so he could stay outside if he bled. I need to do it more often now as he can't walk very far to wear them down.