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The Small Print

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We had a slight setback this past week with History Buff’s schooling. Due to the small print regarding his dual enrollment eligibility, we were notified one day before summer classes started that his funding would be pulled. Eeek!

I certainly hadn’t budgeted a couple extra thousand for this semester AND next. Ugh! Thankfully, the college helped us find a work around, alternative funding and gave us some grace as far as financial due dates.

Downsides to the New Plan

But there are some downsides…

  • He will be locked into a the program I chose for him (meaning he can’t take classes outside of those that apply to this particular diploma.)
  • And while that wouldn’t be terrible in and of itself, because this is such a small class, many of the classes, pre-requisites for others, are only offered certain semesters.

We got him settled into summer classes. But it will take almost 2 years to finish this diploma track based on when classes are offered. And he is anxious to get on with his life…so we are looking for alternative ideas and tracks down the road.

I think the biggest frustration for him is that he doesn’t know what he wants to do. And since his funds for continued education are limited and we are trying to get him through debt free, we kind of need to find his direction so we don’t just flush money down the road as he finishes high school and picks a direction.

The Cost of this Semester

This semester ended up costing me $460 for tuition and $150 for books. And I imagine the fall semester will be about the same. I took the money out of my car savings, that was going to be my credit card pay off fund. It was really nice to have it on hand when needed without touching my EF.

But…how have parents of grown children helped them find their direction as far as studies or specialty training goes? We have spoke ad nauseam…but he’s not any more clear on his direction. Any pointers on this from experienced parents would be great!

Our Summer Garden is Growing!

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Sea Cadet built me a raised bed garden this spring. And I have been having a blast planting in it and watching things sprout over the last few weeks. Every morning when I take the dogs out, I weed the containers and review what has changed over night. It’s especially fun to see the seeds pop through the dirt…and I was smart enough this year to make a chart of what I planted where.

I’ve got two tomato plants, 1 pepper plant, cantaloupe vines, cilantro, green onions, summer squash. loose leaf lettuce and fall gourds coming up. And, of course, a variety of flowers! It is beautiful and I am so proud every time I pull into the driveway. (I’ve also got a pecan tree and fig bush, but neither has produced anything in the two years we have lived in this house.)

It’s been really great of our landlord to give me free reign over the yard. While I know the food we are growing won’t save us a ton of money over the summer, it will be a nice supplement. And there is just something magical about growing your own food.

I’m looking forward to spending a few hours outside this weekend, literally tending to my garden. There’s just something calming about getting my hands dirty.

Do you have a summer garden? What are your favorite and easiest vegetables to grow?