Remember that Mountain 12-15-08

Monday, December 15, 2008

Remember that Mountain? I have kind of had spotty xanga attendance lately. Have you noticed? Maybe not...but either way, allow me to explain myself a tad. At the end of October I handed in my final paper for my final class. I was looking forward to a nice long 6 week break before beginning my internship on December 17th (yes, that is WEDNESDAY!). However, I knew I still had to take my CPCE exam, which is a graduate requirement...a national exam that you have to score high enough on to graduate. You get three tries, and it costs about a $100 per try. Most people study 6-9 months for this thing. I was planning on doing the same, and taking it in March. However, when I called for dates that it was being offered in Michigan, I found out that it was offered November 17th and then not again until March. My supervisor really encouraged me to just try to take the exam, and she was confident I could pass it...on two weeks of study. So I talked to Jonathan, got all nervous and anxious and decided I had nothing to lose but pride (and $100...but I would know better how to prepare come March). So I bought the Encyclopedia of Counseling (the book recommended to study for the CPCE) and absorbed as much as I could for 12 days. I stole every single spare second I had to cram...naps, evenings, quiet moments when the kids were playing contentedly. I desperately hoped to pass and have the stress of this thing behind me. I traveled to the east side of the state and sat for the exam on Saturday November 17th. I sat for the integration portion of the exam on November 24th. I knew chances were slim on such little study, but I was hopeful. And...I passed. BOTH! I was thrilled, shocked...elated...relieved when I found out. Do you know what this means? I am completely and totally done with everything academic regarding my masters. I begin my internship on Wednesday, but from an academic standpoint, I am completely done. If I decide to sit for licensure after graduation I will have to sit for my national licensure exam, but aside from that...as far as my graduate degree goes...I am an internship away from being done. I am thrilled, thrilled thrilled! So there, perhaps that helps to explain why my comments have been few and far between and my posts dwindled there to one a week, or less. Now you know. Soon after I took the exams we all got sick...and now here we are. And I am happy to also announce that we are all healthy (praise the Lord!). Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers last week. Wow was that ever an experience. Now if you could, please pray for my 15 month old niece...she is in the hospital with possible pneumonia. That stuff is awful...let me tell you. And for my one piece of yucky news...Jon came home Friday night to tell me that his heater in the car was not working. We took it to the mechanic on Sat morning and went to breakfast while they repaired it. We got a call halfway through breakfast that there was a major problem and it would cost $1400 to repair the car. The dumb thing was only worth $2500. We had six gloriously short months of only one car payment. Jon had to get a new car...something we were not expecting. I know these things happen; I just hate being blindsighted by it when you aren't expecting it at all. The transmission was about to go as well...which was an additional $2000...so we really had no choice in the matter. Jon got an early Christmas present, I suppose that is one good way of looking at it So, yes...I start work on Wednesday. I am sure that I will have a heap of thoughts on that. Just not now...bc I have to run out of here. I just wanted to share my good news with you all!