Wow! My computer was down (Again) for almost 2 weeks and
I figured I would have a lot of catching up to do here at Kirby's place. What a shock to see no new messages.
What is everyone up to? I know Mule is hauling sugar beets but where is everyone else?
Kirby ar you even out there?
Gina when I crashed I lost your e-mail send it to me
again, ok?
Good morning.
I just finished resetting the clocks back an hour. Also finished hauling beets at 18:00 hours on Saturday.
Just like Linda, I have checked in here to see how far behind I might be, and find that I was one of the last to add a note.
Hope all of you are still okay and none of you have any more trouble than Linda.
If all of you send a note to your friends along with this address and have everybody check in maybe we can create some interest in Kirbys new book.
See ya after while..... MULE
Well, like you I've been surprised, and I must say a little disappointed, that this board has been so dead lately. I know I don't check in too often anymore, more because I got out of the habit than because of anything else. So it's my fault that it's pretty dead, and I take full responsibility.
I once sent out a letter inviting a lot of my friends to come and post here, and some of them actually did, but I think most people are busy like I am, and the interest didn't go on too long. So here it sits. I was just thinking about both of you, Mule and Linda, and wondering how things had been and if you'd just lost interest.
I'm working feverishly on my new book with Clint, and I think it's going really well, but there are glitches as well. I won't go into any of that on a much-too-public forum, but just some sad, discouraging developments.
Disciples of the Wind is in its final proofreading. I have to do that as I've already found five or six things that need to be added or fixed. Now I have to read the whole thing. But I can still try to put out a chapter or two of Long Arrow, among all the corrections I have to do on the earlier chapters. It's been pretty tough on me. On top of that, we're struggling in a major way with Cheyenne, our thirteen-year-old, struggles that only parents with developmentally challenged kids could ever understand. I'm on the verge of taking her out of the charter school we felt so fortunate to get her into and putting her back into the regular public school system. The people at the charter school don't seem to want to understand or admit that some kids aren't as bright as others. They would rather assume if a child is not up with the others that they are just being lazy, and so Debbie and I end up doing most of her homework for her, just to keep her head above water. Now she's into algebra/geometry, etc., and neither Debbie nor I have ever taken any of that, so we're ALL lost.
As I said, we may pull her out and put her back in regular school, and the next step after that is home schooling, and hoping the school system hasn't already destroyed any self-esteem she has left by that point. She's finally reached a school where someone in the system isn't doing all her work for her and just passing her on to get her through school. What we fondly call "real life" is catching up, and unfortunately I of little faith am seeing happen exactly what I've feared all along. One of my daddy's old letters I found when he was teaching school out in Virginia talked about how some kids need to be out learning a vocation instead of being in the school system where they lose all their self esteem because they can't keep up. I'm afraid Cheyenne is one of those, and my dad was probably way ahead of a lot of the world in his way of thinking.
Wow!!! I didn't mean to burden you all with this. I started out to explain why the books are coming slow, and I guess it's because of me writing long letters like this! Sorry to throw this all out there. We'll keep plugging along with Cheyenne and hoping for miracles. In the meantime, the cover is about designed for Disciples of the Wind, and I'm hoping beyond hope for a pre-Christmas release date. Thanks for all your support, my friends. I'll try to check in here more often.
Kirby my friend.
I think more people than you realize can empathise with you about teen aged kids and the tough world of education.
I have never gotton along well with numbers and it took me four years to get through two years of Highschool Algebra and Geometry. I would rather read , so I did.
I think I can speak for your fans that we are wishing you and yours the best and we are also hopeing for a new book by Christmas.
MULE
Kirby, Great to hear from you but sorry this is such a trying time. Having 4 grandkids in high school I can totally sympathize. My daughter works for one of the grade schools in Hawaii and gets so totally frustrated. Too bad they don't live here my grandson could tutor Cheyenne in math, he is a wiz. Must get it from his Dad, sure not from his Mom (or me). My granddaughter had some problems in her earlier years, mainly with reading comprehension and was very lucky to have a teacher who worked with her and helped her a lot. I think all public schools now have special ed classes based on the "no child left behind" law, so maybe public school is the answer. Good luck.
Kirby,
Sorry to hear about your present predicament,with your daughter Cheyenne.We all hope everything turns up positively,later on down the track.Our thoughts are with you and your family,at this uneasy time.
All we can do is offer moral support-from the sidelines.
All the best,with everyone concerned.
Wow. I didn't know Cheyenne was a special needs child. Paul and I adopted two special needs boys when they were 7 and 8 -- the next 12 years were, uh -- INTERESTING.
I suppose every school system is different, but we had our greatest success in the small-town high school. We lucked into an assistant principal who was able to tell us what James COULD do and not what he COULDN'T do. And the county special ed support was outstanding. James was able to participate in sports, which gave him incentive to do his work. And our little school was small enough that he couldn't fall through the cracks, even if he tried (and he did!).
All I can say is, keep trying. My younger boy went into foster care and had a wonderful set of foster parents who impressed old-fashioned values on the kids including making them do their homework nightly. Now Rodney is holding down a full-time job despite being bipolar and having some other mental issues.
A special-ed department director once accused me of being "an advocate for James." If his parents didn't advocate for their child, who would? You may have to stand up on your hind legs and holler for what Cheyenne needs, it's worth it.
My Dad went to a vocational high school back in the 40's to be a draftsman. He was not academically inclined. How did you and Debbie graduate from high school without taking Algebra or Geometry? We couldn't get a diploma without those required subjects. Of course, by the time I have to use them again, I'll be old and senile. Holy Cow! When Rachel graduates high school, I'll be almost 55!
I feel your pain, Kirby. I know how disconcerting and unsettling this all is. It's hard to talk about these school conferences, because your kid is really under a microscope, and you wonder how they're ever gonna function in the real world as an adult. But, step back, look at the big picture, and somehow, you'll know what's right and the answers will come to you. All you can do is love them and do your best and plug along. Life will happen, and someday, you'll look back at all this and say, "we made it through." Getting there, though, is a killer, huh? We're our own worst enemies. I think I'm getting a new gray hair every day. What's that stuff that Clint uses again? ;)
Be vigilant in your pursuit of what's right for Chey. I know it's easier said than done, but don't give up hope.