Just when I thought I everything under control, I decided to go back to college! It seemed like a good idea at the time. All I needed was to be a tad more organized... Famous last words!

We learned together about multitasking and dealing with changes and illness. Let me first point out that every time I get a new job or go to school or do anything that detracts time from my son he gets hurt and I spend more time in the ER than anyone could stand. We've endured dog bites, stitches, migraines, viruses and bacterial infections and that's just him since August! I've been sick, stressed and hospitalized.

I got a $15,000 hospital bill for two days NOT including Dr. charges and they included a NON-itemized statement with a friendly little note asking me to pay them in 15 days! I went in with a migraine and they did a spinal tap on me and I couldn't walk! They want me to pay them for that?! I'm livid. When they discovered I lacked health insurance they immediately released me whilst I was projectile vomiting and unable to walk! I lingered in this limbo for 8 more days then incredibly, turned on the tv and saw a Dr. doing alternative migraine treatments. I called him and told him of my experience and begged him to help me. He saw me at 5:15pm that day. He gave me a biocranial treatment and I was pain free in less than 5 minutes for the first time since 1992! It truly is a miracle. I still have no pain! If you or anyone you know needs help check him out at: www.drstuart.net or www.biocranial.com. I'll post more about that later when I have time to process it.

Through all our strife, we learned from each other once again. My baby literally had to take care of me for eight long days.  He called my parents with updates and asked for help when he needed it, he cooked, cleaned and comforted me. I tried to get him to go to his grandparent's homes so he could take a break and do kid stuff but he refused. He would bring workbooks and other schoolwork and hop in bed with me.

You may think this is nothing important but how do you test a child on nuturing and compassion? This is important if ever your child has the misfortune of being the victim of or witness to a traumatic event. They must remain calm and not panic. My constant drilling of this into his memory enabled him to save his uncle's life last year after he fell in the driveway and fractured his skull. While witnessing blood shooting from his ear, he remained calm enough to call me to come help them. My brother was Life Flighted (helicopter) to a trauma unit where he spent 10 days in Intensive Care. Doctors told my son repeatedly that he was a hero who saved his uncle's life.

People often forget that there are booksmarts and streetsmarts and both are important to self-preservation. Bad things happen to good people and children need to be prepared about what to do in an emergency. It's very helpful to talk to your child in a calm manner and together write out plans of action in different types of emergencies. For example: fire, accident, hurricane, tornado, etc. Then they don't feel helpless, they feel empowered because they know how to help.

When I'm ill, I tell my child to choose which channel he would like to watch, science channel, national geographic, etc. Then we discuss the show. In his journal he writes the most interesting topics he would like to learn more about. Then we go to the library to do research the old school way! After learning where to find information then we can check for additional information on the Internet. My mantra is always, "Knowledge is power!"

As a single parent I never thought I'd have the opportunity to homeschool my son. I took a leap of faith that has enriched both our lives. Now when I have to go to school to do a paper, he goes with me and does research on his projects. My most important goal is to teach him to think for himself and to nurture his love of learning that public school had extinguished by second grade.

The road not taken is a long and winding road but we love the journey and we're great traveling companions!  

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