Following Up

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France

Long day yesterday, but productive.

We went to the school -- there was one other couple with two kids (4 & 5 y.o.), and a grandmother who came (she's raising her granddaughter) who were there as well. I won't go into all the details, but suffice it to say we were very excited about the opportunities there. It's a very small school -- we went to three different in-session classes and there were 8 kids in one, 10 in one and 6 in the other. The paperwork says they have an average of 1:10 teacher/student ratio.

Technologically, they're pretty amazing, too. There's a full science lab (even has a safety shower), a cafeteria/auditorium and the school is locked down while it's in session (we had to ring to get in).

Loved the people, enjoyed the students we talked to. And, speaking of students, here's an interesting tidbit: the high school student we talked to told us his story (from the Congo, father assassinated, etc). He was just an amazing kid, happy and enthusiastic...he practically glowed. After we gabbed for a bit, he went back to class and one of the people taking us through mentioned that he was there on financial aid, that his mother worked three jobs to support her five boys and that dance was something that unified the family. He said that the mother was a huge fan of "Dancing With the Stars" and that the boys wrote in to see if they could sit in the audience one night as a gift to their mom. Instead, it turned out to be a little more -- those of you who watch DWTS may remember the Mwano family:



In any case, DD liked the school, I liked the school, we were both excited about it (and since we'd started out VERY apprehensive, I figured that was a good sign), so we're going to start the application process for next year.

A big change it is a-coming...

Then it was off to the orthopedic surgeon to discuss the MRI results on my knee.

In a nutshell: I need surgery and my knee is wonkier than I thought!

On one side I have a meniscus tear -- not a bad one, and easily fixed. On the other side I have indications that I injured my knee as some point (who knows? I was ridiculously active as a kid) and there's a cartilage problem there that needs help, too (this one's a little more complicated... they're going to try something simple first, but if it doesn't work then it gets gradually more and more difficult and invasive -- I'm figuring the first surgery will do the trick). The pain I feel is from the ligament tear, the "catching" I have is from the problem on the other side.

And then to top it all off, my kneecap is lopsided and off center and has been rubbing where it shouldn't and so has wrecked the cartilage in one spot so it's bone-on-bone (I asked, "Is that the grinding/squeaking noise I hear?" - "Yep.") and it leading to a lovely case of arthritis. On this, he says there's not much I can do (I figure he meant "surgically" because I'm looking into homeopathic arthritis remedies).

All of this means a few things... I'll be having surgery (probably in January -- don't want to be unable to drive and/or on crutches at Christmas) for the two problems. It also means I MUST drop about 15 - 20 lbs to take some of the stress off my joints and it means I have to "baby" my knees more than I do. No high impact exercise, no carrying heavy loads up and down stairs, etc.

Seriously sucks. But it's better than not having a knee (ala "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet").

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You Are a Home & Garden

You are a total homebody who loves to create things. You're very handy. You're always cooking something new in the kitchen or making up a funky new craft. Your home is your castle, and you are always looking for more inspiration. Your place probably doesn't look like those in home and garden magazines... it looks more unique!

What Kind of Magazine Are You?

About 50/50 ...

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