MY 13TH BIRTHDAY AND BACK TO SCHOOL

5th to 11th February 2011

What a huge week it has been for me, I have some wonderful memories to treasure like my own living photo album, I will be able to look back enjoy them, learn from them and continuously add to them throughout the year.  Thank you to all my followers who left such lovely Birthday wishes for me, I appreciate them, you are all so very special.

On Saturday at running training I surprised myself and walked six hundred metres around the AIS track using my rollator, the smile on my face matched the brilliantly shinning sun.  Not this weekend but next weekend I am going to attempt eight hundred metres which is two laps of the track. 

Tuesday was a very special day for me, It was my 13th Birthday, I can't believe that I am a teenager now.  I am hoping that I can be a role model to other teenagers and inspire them to do wonderful work helping others in the community, teenagers don't have to be selfish and not get along with parents, that is something I was told when I was in hospital at the end of last year and I thought it was terrible and I would never be like that.  My Birthday was splendiferous, I received some truly beautiful and thoughtful gifts and cards,  I got lots of wonderful warm hugs and a special visit from Sarah.  At night we celebrated with dinner out and then had a scrumptious profiterole Birthday cake that melted in your mouth. 

The next day was my first day back at school, I have to admit I had very mixed emotions, on one hand I was excited yet one the other I was extremely nervous, I had a stomach full of fluttering butterflies and a headache but once I was there I felt so much more settled.  Middle School have moved to a new Campus, so it is a new beginning for everyone, we all have to get used to the new surroundings and new faces. 

My first week at school has been enjoyable, challenging and a little tiring I actually fell asleep on the lounge I was so exhausted after my second day.   I am going to strive to do my very best though each and every day.  We do not do our normal school timetable for the first week back but take part in what is called The Genesis Program.  We participated in some interesting challenges, like as a group designing a package to try to stop an egg from breaking when you dropped it from a height and then threw it as far as possible.  The only materials we could use were newspaper, masking tape and straws, there were many different ideas, some worked and others did not.  In the dropping challenge our egg just slightly cracked on one side but in the throwing challenge our egg got totally demolished.  As you can imagine it was lots of fun and because it was a sunny day, it did become a little smelly! 

We also did a poster for a Celebrity Loser, my group chose Lindsay Lohan and we had to work out a rehabilitation plan for her over twelve months and consequences if she did not follow our plan.  That activity was also enjoyable.  Part of the program involved making a time capsule that we will open at the end of the year, we had to put important things to us in it, photographs, a piece of string that measured our height and a letter to ourselves, it will be interesting to see what has and hasn't changed in that time.  We finished off the week by writing class rules and consequences which of course really important. 

Each day I have been working on my stretches and riding the exercise bike, I can feel that my muscles are not as tight as they once were which is a really positive thing because I was so tight before it caused me pain.

My FM transmitter is fantastic to use in class, I find that my hearing aid only picks up conversation that is close to me, I think I will need to hear clearly this year because lots of the work in Year 8 is much more complicated than Year 6 or 7. 

I am pleased that the first week back at school is over and that the weekend has just begun, Jarrett is racing in the Athletics ACT Junior Championships in the 1500m on Saturday night, it is supposed to rain tomorrow but he loves running in the rain so that could be an advantage to him. 

I don't have any homework for this weekend, hooray!  Oh, I do have to cover a few books but that is easy.  I will rest up so that I will ready for a full five day week at school next week.  I am wondering how I will cope with it as last year I only went every second day for short hours.

On a disappointing note, I found out this week that I have to have my MRI's in Sydney still because they want to monitor my tumour using the same machine, they said it is more consistent and if anything shows to become aggressive they can act more quickly.  So every three months I have to visit Sydney for my MRI, this will mean time away from school and family.

Please say a special prayer for Tess my Starlight Wish Granter because she has to have major back surgery on 16th February, she is an extraordinary person and I hope the surgery goes well and she will be back on her feet as soon as possible.