Good and Bad...

Well today was one of those days that had both really good and really bad things in it. I suppose I will share the bad first. I got a TB test done on Tuesday, and I had to go get it read today. I was so proud of myself for getting it done at Conway's Health Dept so I wouldn't have to miss any school, but I had issues when I got it read today. Of course I had a reaction...I was hoping I wouldn't, but the last TB test I had was a 9mm reaction so I wasn't too surprised about this. It's frustrating though because the workers there really freak out about it and treat me like I have TB, even though there is no way I could because the reaction would be WAY bigger than the tiny red bump on my arm. After measuring it like 5 times, they decided that the reaction was 12mm (even though they went from 9mm to 10mm and then to 12mm). Then they told me I needed to have an x-ray done, and asked if I could stay, and said it would only take about an hour. Well, I had to be back for my class in 30 minutes, but I called my principal and he said to go ahead and do it, and they could get my class covered. So...I sat around for 45 minutes, and when they finally get to me, I find out that they don't actually do the x-rays there, they just made an appointment for me to have it done at a doctor in Conway next week. Then, I have to wait until March 10th and go back to the Health Dept. so their "TB x-ray reader guy" can read the x-ray and let me know if anything else needs to be done. Talk about a hassle! I called my PCP, and they weren't able to get me in until the 26th (after the Conway appt), but my PCP said they should be able to just call me with the results rather than me needing to take another half day off. So I'm trying to decide which route I should go. I definitely trust my PCP (sounds like I'm talking about drugs!) more than the health dept doctor, but if I'm going to have to go for 2 appointments with my doctor, then I might as well just keep the appts the health dept made for me. Wow...that was confusing. So that was definitely a frustrating morning, and since they took so long to SCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENT when I thought I was going to get an x-ray, I was almost late for my next class.

Here are two good things that happened today:
We got our new 1098T's today! Now I have the hassle of filing a correction on my taxes for this year, and requesting an amended 1098T for last year so I can correct those as well, but that will definitely get us some more much needed money once it's all said and done.

This is not adoption related but good. I had a parent leave a message for me that she wanted me to call her. Those things always make me nervous because I'm never sure what they want, and of course they don't give the secretary any indication so it could be about anything. Well I called her back, and all she wanted to do was tell me a music-related story about her son, and it definitely made my day. She said her son was in the car with his dad, and they were listening to a game show sort of thing on the radio. I'm not sure of all the specifics, but I know it involved current composers creating music that sounds like classical music examples. Anyway, when an example was getting played, her son piped up and said, "That's Stravinsky! I know that's Stravinsky!" He proceeded to say that Stravinsky was born in Russia, and the example being played sounded like the Rite of Spring. Then he apparently got impatient when the contestant was taking to long to guess the right answer. When they finally said the answer, she said her husband was amazed because the song was based on Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. She said even though they listen to classical music some, they don't focus on composers or titles of pieces so the only place he could have learned that was in my class. :) Stravinsky was our "composer of the month" for November. So it made me really happy to know that kids were actually remembering things I was teaching them, especially since I don't see them every day.
Pray the TB hassle works out and doesn't cause any problems with our adoption.

Here is my updated to-do list:

-fill out the application for adoption including 5 references
-Get Affidavits notarized
-contact a social worker about a home study
-get fingerprinted for a criminal background check
-get child maltreatment forms notarized and submitted
-get a physical done
-get a TB test done (half done)
-Write a Letter to Birthparents
-Write an autobiography about each of our backgrounds
-Create SIX-TEN copies of a photo booklet (the book is just about completed, but I didn't know we would have to have so many copies of it!)
-Fill out a Profile of the Adoptive Family
-Read Dear Birthmother and fill out a book report on it
-Read The Open Adoption Experience and fill out a book report on it
-Read another book about adoption and fill out a book report on it
-Fill out a questionnaire about our preferred level of openness
-Fill out a profile of the child we would consider adopting
-Fill out a budget
-Get our bank to fill out a reference letter
-Fill out a financial statement
-Copy our driver's licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates
-obtain verification of employment letters which note when our employment began, current position, and salary earned
-set up and complete home study with social worker