Thoughts, Adventures, & Daily Life of a Home-Schooled High-Schooler

This morning I was scrolling back through my blog and reading old posts when I stumbled across a series I wrote last summer: The Dread and Denial of being asked "The Question" . I started laughing as I reread the thread.   Life certainly is interesting these days. Seeing your younger siblings graduate high school and start their full time jobs makes you feel a little strange. Supposedly we grew up enough to do such things now, but I don't know about that! It looked so much easier when I was 12... From my 7th grade perspective, those graduates were so mature and had their lives together!   Yeah, or not!  But they sure made it look so easy.   . . . Maybe I should post a life update. . . and perhaps a brief introduction?   His name is Austin.  I like him a lot:)  He makes me very happy! The picture explains the rest.      The End

 2 years ago this week, I walked into a testing site to take my National Registry Exam. I was 17 and absolutely terrified. Due to c🦠vid, my class had ended prematurely and I didn’t feel very prepared for the test. That afternoon, I repeatedly checked the website and was shocked but very excited to see I had passed! I started out intending only to run with my local EMS agency as time allowed, but it wasn’t long before I realized I wanted to do it as a full time job.  Just a few short weeks after my 18th birthday, I applied for a job as a transport EMT. I was hired to start the interfacility transport program for DH&L. I knew nothing about IFT, but spent a lot of time talking to different agencies and providers, gathering information as well as tips and tricks.  When a 911 position became available in April, I passed the transport program onto a newer hire and began the 24on/72off schedule that I’m still doing at this present time.  It’s not always fun and glamoro...

Decided to post a draft that I had typed from this summer. I didn’t feel like posting it the time… so enjoy it now🤷‍♀️ Somebody made the comment to me recently that my life seems so glamorous and full of adventure. *cue a very shocked expression on my face.* My life glamorous? Full of adventure? People, don’t think for a second that I find mountains of laundry, cleaning, and cooking very exciting.  Quality of life depends so very much on your attitude towards whatever comes your way. And I’ll be honest, sometimes my attitude towards everyday, mundane life just stinks. . . . But if you need an idea for an every day adventure…. 1) find at least 5 children under the age of 12 (the more the better😅) 2) a grandmother or another person dedicated solely to come along and photograph the adventure  3) locate a pick-your-own orchard 4) a ton of patience and laughter Let me warn you that you will have to inspect every single peach before it’s picked, (otherwise they will all be green o...

Its estimated that nearly 65% of the American population have made plans during the weekend. Some choose a relaxing weekend at home with friends, while others go on short getaways. but they usually return for the work week starting Monday morning. At least, they normally return. But I’ve never heard of a washer taking a weekend break and not coming back. But it was decided to. It’s giving us problems over the last couple weeks, but this week it down right refused to do laundry. And with 11 people living in our house, that became a problem very quickly. So today we Commenced on a Trip to the Laundromat. First came about the gathering of the clothes, followed by hauling baskets of said laundry out to the van and loading it up. How many quarters will it take to do 14 loads? And then we hauled all our now sopping wet laundry home to dry it in the well functioning dryer. It must’ve been the day for laundry calamities, because later when I came upstairs, the dress rack with man...

*** I have tried to keep the story as real as possible, but please note that all names, places, and times have been changed in compliance with HIPPA regulations. ***    "Hey, what's this?" I asked my EMS partner as a small weighted paper dropped out of my certification file and fell gently to the floor. With a distinct "ka-thunk" I set the file I had been sorting on the desk and grabbed the wayward paper. "Oh, it's my TPA award!" I said, slightly surprised. "I was wondering where this brain had gotten to. It's been missing for several months."      "Missing for several months? No wonder the last while has been quite busy!!!" my partner exclaimed, not willing to miss a golden opportunity for a joke.     It was true, the month of December especially was much busier than in years prior. As a volunteer, I had run 20 calls around the schedules of the paid staff, mainly in the evenings or during the night.      Setting the certi...

 Several weeks ago I was asked to do a presentation on basic First Aid during our annual homeschool Fire Prevention event.      I complied and gave some basic tips on First Aid. Managing a bleed, giving support for a broken limb, and, because it  was  fire prevention: how to treat a burn. One of the moms snapped this photo and later sent it to me.      Many children were fascinated by all the tools I have on my uniform. I explained that my stethoscope is used on every call to take blood pressures or listen to lung sounds. On my belt, I have my trauma shears and pager. The battery on my pager will last about 3 days before I need to put it on the charger. Once on the charger, it will reach fully charged in less than 20min.       My wristwatch is also used to take vitals; counting a pulse and how many breaths a patient is taking in a minute.       In my calf pocket I have several pens, a flashlight, and di...

Martina keeps telling me that I really must write another blog post. I offered all kinds of other ideas, including telling  her write a guest post, but she quickly squashed that idea. "Blog about your car", she then suggested.  So here you have it.  For anyone who wants the specifics, its a 2005 Honda Civic LX.       Learning how to drive a manual transmission has been pretty interesting (terrifying, as one younger sibling remarked).  But I really like the gas mileage. Its currently getting around 32 miles to the gallon. 

Around 6am Saturday morning, Dad pulled out of the truck stop. Most of us were still sleeping. Breakfast was eaten while we drove, so the only stops we made were for fuel.  We entered Pennsylvania at 11:30. The afternoon was spent driving with a short stop for lunch. Pulled into our driveway and 3:32 and Dad turned off the engine. After unloading, it again refused to start, and has taken temporary residence just outside our garage. We are waiting on a repair man to see what the problem really is.

The Wal-Mart didn't open until 7:30am. Mom & I made a list of food items we needed, while dad and the older boys tackled the starter problem. To their dismay, they realized that the wrong size part had been purchased the night before and they needed to bike to O'Reilly's and make the exchange. Meanwhile, Martina & Elissa accompanied me on our grocery shopping expedition. Its a strange feeling to only buy enough food for a few meals. I'm used to buying 3 or 4 gallons of milk at a time - not a half gallon. Yogurt? Only enough for breakfast 'cuz more than that won't fit in the fridge! We finished our shopping and trekked out to the far end of the Wal-Mart parking lot where our motorhome was parked. Dad and the boys were back.  Under the motorhome they were trying to replace the faulty starter. Mom & I got breakfast for the little children and cleaned up all the bedding. Finally the starter was changed, but the problem wasn't fixed. The stubborn beas...

Wednesday morning Dad had a hard time getting the Motorhome to start. This was becoming a trademark of our trip - turn off the engine for more than 30min, have lots of fun trying to get it to start! A google search revealed an O'Reilly's in Rapid City, about 45 minutes away. Off to Rapid City we went - hoping to buy something to fix our ailing method of transport. The clerk came out with a nifty little machine, hooked it up to some random places in the engine, and told Dad he thought it would require a new battery. Dad purchased a new battery and he and the boys installed it in the parking lot while mom took several smaller children on a walk. Hoping our RV problems were over we continued to Mount Rushmore. After viewing the monuments and battling the crowds of other tourists, we decided to ride a coaster which was similar to an Alpine Slide. We spent 4 hours at this mini amusement park. That was an enjoyable afternoon.  Hoping to see some buffalo, antelope, and maybe some mule...

* All these posts were written from my phone and I've been slowly uploading them now that we are home. I'm sure you will find many grammar and spelling errors. I will edit these posts as I am alerted to errors* Tuesday morning Dad & Mom made breakfast over our little propane range. After breakfast, we walked around and looked at the different displays until the visitors center opened. We decided to take a covered wagon ride around the property. Several of us got to try driving the team that was pulling our wagon. At the school, our tour guide have us a history lesson, and then took us to church. When the wagon ride was over, several wanted to go on the pony-cart ride, while the rest of us went back to the motorhome and packed up a few last-minute items. The motorhome had to be given much encouragement to start. Finally the engine submitted, and we were on our way. Just after leaving the Ingalls Homestead, we stopped at Loftus Store in De Smet. Because of the name, I was kin...