holiday time

I haven't been able to write as much because I am getting ready for Christmas.  I have been sewing and knitting presents.  I am almost done with the second to last project.  This blog is break time.  I am also thinking a lot right now.  Yesterday, J and I had a talk about what I should do next.  He suggested that I consider going back to school to study something vocational.  I mentioned it to the vocational rehab people I am working with, and we are going to look into it further.  It will involve waiting until after Christmas and New Year's, and it will also involve the neurologist giving me the okay to drive again.  That will be strange; I haven't driven more than a few feet in the driveway for over a year!  Still, I haven't had a seizure, or even an aura in over a year, and the last round I had was caused by the need to adjust my medication levels.  That happens periodically.  If I go back to school, it looks like it will be a two year endeavor.  I would have to talk to someone at the community college to figure out more than that - if I still have to take any general education courses included in the program.  I am intimidated at the prospect of going to school again, but at the same time, I want to know if this would be a possibility.  I still need to talk to my lawyer and see how this would affect my disability case.  I don't know how all of that works.  I wonder if I could still get back pay or anything like that.  The program I am looking at most is the occupational therapy assistant one.  I feel like I would be able to relate well to the patients or clients or whatever they are called in that setting.  I have had to adjust a lot after my illness.  I would need to learn a lot about anatomy, from what I can see on the course schedule.  I don't know how that would work for me.  All I can do is try.  When I mentioned it to the vocational rehab people, they mentioned possibly being able to provide extra funding to make up the difference for whatever FAFSA doesn't cover.  That would be really helpful.  I wonder how we would handle things like textbooks.  We will see what we can figure out.  From what I can see, it is a competitive program, and I will need to apply by february.  I also need to get CPR and first aid certified to qualify.  I will have to look into doing that.  I wonder how going to school will affect my writing.  I want to keep on writing.  I hope I can keep up a decent writing schedule, and even find more writing ideas in these new possibilities for endeavors.  I need to be committed to writing to be able to do that.