David and THE Test

As I've said before, my husband David is a 2nd year nursing student at Mesabi Range. He just started his final semester on Monday, January 12. He bought all of his books etc., came home from school that day and announced "I have to take my math test tomorrow." This is THE test...the one that he has to pass with 100% (students can take the test 3 times) in order to continue on with the program. Failure to do so would result in his being expelled from school. David has always struggled with math, but then he had a Med. Math class last semester. He worked so hard...hours and hours of studying, practicing etc. The result was that he passed the class with 90%. David took THE test on Tuesday and failed...he had 2 wrong. He wasn't surprised as the questions he missed were those that he didn't know how to do. Wednesday, he was prepared and feeling not confident, but not the opposite, either. He arrived home yesterday disgusted with himself, and devastated, because he had gotten 1 wrong and it was on a problem that he knew how to do. He even showed the teacher after class that he knew how to do it. Last evening, he slept for a while in the chair...I think he was absolutely exhausted because he hadn't really slept in 2 days. I felt so bad for him; I could feel waves of pain and sadness just rolling off of him and yet he still managed to tease me, and joke around a bit with the kids. What a guy, eh?!
This morning when he left for school to take the test for the 3rd and final time, he was more depressed than I've seen him in years. He said "I feel like I did when we were losing the store." (That's another story and I won't get into it here, but suffice it to say that it was a very difficult time for all of us.) I went around before he left, doing what I always do...made his coffee, made his lunch, warmed up the car etc. Becca woke up long enough to say "Bye, bye, Daddy. I love you." David ruffled her hair and said "Bye, bye, Becca. I love you too." I gave David a kiss goodbye, wished him a safe trip and said "I believe in you. We all believe in you." It was so hard to appear calm and "normal," for lack of a better word! I went back to bed but couldn't sleep. David called at 7:30 to let me know he'd made it safely to school. Great! I told him that I loved him and to do good on the test. His voice, when he next spoke, sounded centuries old and just as tired, "I'll try." By 9:30, I still hadn't heard anything and I was getting worried. I was certain that David wouldn't do anything foolish, but I knew he might have gone for a drive to pull himself together, if he didn't pass the test, before coming home. So, I called the school and spoke to the instructor who had administered the test. She told me "David's sitting in class, right now." "What?" "He's sitting in class right now. He passed! Now you'll have to act surprised when you see him!" Thank You Jesus!! There are no words to express the relief I feel at this moment. David has struggled with poor self-esteem for all of the years I've known him (21). Passing THE test, and knowing that he was able to do it...this is HUGE!
I can't wait for May 13. On May 13, David and I will have been married for 20 years. But do you know what's even better than that? May 13 is the day that David graduates from college.

"Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

More on this later; had to write it down before I forgot it :-)

Handlas Hantverk

Handlas Hantverk

Very Simple Child's Knitted Hat

As I said in a previous post, I have been making hats and giving them to the local school so that they, in turn, can give them to kids that need them. To that end, I picked up my yarn and needles and started knitting. When I made this hat, I used my own 10 year old daughter as the mannequin (to get approximate size). The hat is extremely simple, uses the magic loop, and (*Disclaimer*) any similarity to other patterns is purely coincidental.

Materials:
Needle: Size 11 (US), circ. with 16" cable. (Size 11 dpns can be used if you wish, when the hat gets too small/too uncomfortable to continue using magic loop.)
Yarn: Worsted Weight, any type, two strands held together
Tapestry Needle

Holding two strands of yarn together,
CO: 42 sts., place marker between first and last stitches, join.
Work K1 P1 rib for 1.5".
Knit straight rounds until hat measures 6.5" to 7" from the cast-on edge.
Begin decrease:
Round 1: *K5, K2 tog.* Repeat from * to * around. Slip Marker to right needle. 36 sts.
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *K4, K2 tog.* Repeat from * to * around. Slip Marker to right needle. 30 sts.
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: *K3, K2 tog.* Repeat from * to * around. Slip Marker to right needle. 24 sts.
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: *K2, K2 tog.* Repeat from * to * around. Slip Marker to right needle. 18 sts.
Round 8: Knit
Round 9: *K1, K2 tog.* Repeat from * to * around. Slip Marker to right needle. 12 sts.
Round 10: Knit
Round 11: K2 tog. around. 6 sts.

Finishing: Cut both strands of yarn, leaving about a 9" tail. Thread tail through tapestry needle, and thread the needle through the remaining 6 stitches. Pull the stitches up tight, and weave in the ends on the inside of the hat. Weave in the strands from the cast-on edge.

If you can, make a hat for your child and make another for someone else.

Update on my Dad

For the past few days, my dad has been having a lot of seizures...upwards of 10 each day. They're not what I would call major, lasting anywhere from 30 - 65 seconds (dad doesn't lose consciousness during these seizures), but the sheer number per day is intimidating/scarey. So, today he had an appointment with a neurologist in Duluth. The dosage on one of his meds has been increased, and he will be starting a 3rd anti-seizure medication in two days. After that, he has an appointment for a MRI on January 28. Hopefully, we will learn something new...like why on earth he's having these seizures in the first place. A suspected trigger is anxiety/excitement. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, is determined on the 28th.

I Can Help, and So Can You

About a month ago, on a bitterly cold day, one of Chelsea's little friends arrived at our house, bright and early, to walk to school with Chels. This little one had no hat and no mittens. When I asked her where her hats and mittens were, she said "I don't have any." I immediately sent Chelsea off to find mittens or gloves, and then went to "the closet" (the scarey one where everything that doesn't have a real home lives) and found a hat that I'd made months ago, just to have on hand. The girls left for school a few minutes later; Chelsea all bundled up for the weather, and her friend with her new hat and used, but warm, gloves. Next, is where http://www.ravelry.com/ comes in. Ravelry is a world-wide on-line community of people who enjoy the art and craft of knitting and crochet. Currently, there are close to 300,000 members. Pretty wild, eh?

Anyways, in addition to being an amazing resource for all things fiber related, there are countless small groups of people who share the same interests on Ravelry. One of those groups is F.L.O.C.K. (For Love of Charity Knitting), and it is based out of Duluth, MN...just an hour or so down the shore of Lake Superior from me. The same evening that Chelsea's friend told me that she didn't have a hat or mittens, I was contacted by F.L.O.C.K., asking if I would care to become a member, and the F.L.O.C.K. contact here in Silver Bay. Of course, I agreed, and immediately began thinking about what I could do to help. My first thought was of how cold it is this time of year, and that there were probably more children who didn't have hats or mittens. After contacting the school, I decided to make some hats for them to have on hand...so that they could give them to kids who need them. To date, I've made 5 or 6 hats, and a headband that I've dropped off at school. It's been a couple of days since I've had anything on my needles, and my fingers are getting itchy and twitchy. I need to make more! In addition to making things for the school, I will soon be making some stuffies for the local police and rescue personnel to take with them when they go on calls that involve children. (I know, I'm such a mom!) After that, I have some other ideas in mind but I'm trying not to think too far ahead. There is such great need...and clearly visible, if a person just takes a moment to look. I'm so glad that I did.

New Year

So I didn't...make any new year's resolutions. Rather than resolve to do something like I usually do (lose weight, etc.), I have resolved to try to follow the words of Blessed Mother Teresa, "Do all things with great love." I figure a person can hardly go wrong with that, eh? "Do all things with great love." Work harder at serving others...because I believe with all my heart that we are all put on this Earth to serve others, and to do it with love. Work harder at keeping the house clean...because I love my family and I want all of us to live in a neat and calm environment. Work harder at organization...again, because I love my family and want everyone to use time more efficiently. Work harder at living simply...with so many clothes, and so many "things" that are either packed away in boxes, or sitting out on shelves, tables, and other assorted horizontal surfaces, there's just too much stuff cluttering up our lives that really doesn't need to be here. (Note to self: Start packing things up for a yard sale in the Spring.)

I wish anyone who happens to read this, a very Happy New Year.