First Contact…Foreman Style

We were going to wait until closer to time, but I guess it’s time to let the cat out of the bag so to speak. These past ten months have been what Steve and I have termed a “learning experience.” A HUGE fracking one. We have been on both extreme highs and ultimate lows here in Missoula.  The area here is striking with the mountains, the trees and the ever changing weather patterns. Even though we had a very rocky start, towards the middle of the fall semester, it smoothed out and we could settle in to a “normal” routine. UMT has been rather pendulum like to us as well. They have some of the most amazing people working at this university, but for every amazing professor or Dean, there seem to be 3 that have put up more barriers for us to play the game with. The DSS department at UMT has been invaluable to Steve’s education, the Geography department has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for him, and I was able to launch Platypus here.  Had it not been for Gerre and the UC Art Fairs, I don’t think I would have had the local exposure that she and her Art Fair crew have managed to gain me. We sure wouldn’t have met our amazing new friends either.  So with that sad note, we are announcing that after a very long, hard decision, and with much council from our Adopted Mom and Dad, we will be leaving UMT at the end of this Summer.  Steve had applied to and was accepted by Montana State University (MSU) back in 2010, so we will be transferring to Bozeman at the end of July.  The deciding factor was all of the drama over the Yellow Ribbon Program and how UMT handled it.  To tell 16 Veteran students that they (UMT) would not put their end of the financial aid in and then that exact same day turn around and announce on the news that they are paying the fired football coach $300,000+ is inexcusable. You have no idea just how disgusted I am with this Board and the President. The only news we got was from the newspaper, and even that has not been correct. The UM Vet Department, although passionate in trying to help, doesn’t know what is going on, nor are they pro-active about many aspects needed. They are great if there is an issue that develops, but many times, these things could have been corrected before the issue became pure drama. Again, not acceptable. Get it done, get it done right, and then you don’t have to fret.

We contacted MSU earlier this week and spoke with the VA Coordinator who also happens to be the head of DSS and discussed Steve’s ongoing issues.  She was more then helpful and got us in touch with Housing, Admissions, as well as helping us to understand VA changes, as Steve will be going back to the VA Vocational Rehabilitation program. We discussed the Service Dog and she was delighted about Steve working with Heeling Allies. Honestly, I was bawling towards the end of the call because all I needed was answers.  We were later contacted by the Earth Systems department at MSU, and they are MORE than happy to accept Steve and even confirmed that he will be working towards a BS in Earth Systems with the Geography option specializing in natural hazards as well as prepping him for the ability to go to work for FEMA, USGS, NOAA, state, county and city levels as well. That’s when he got teary. If he plays his cards right, he *might* be out by December 2013.  We are quite literally coming full circle with this move as this was Steve’s original university that he wanted to start at when he chose to start school way back in 2010.

Are we scared about how fast this is moving? You have NO idea how freaked out we are. We are petrified that something, somewhere will just blow up in our faces and we won’t have a backup plan, because there won’t be one. This will be my 40^th move in my lifetime and I’m getting super tired of them, but I also know, deep in my heart, this is the *right* thing to be doing for both of us.  Steve deserves to have the very best college experience he can, with the people and the tools that can help him to become the best he can. I deserve to have a happy household, as well as the ability to focus on getting Platypus up and out into the world; for the first time in my entire life, I truly feel pure joy when I “go to work.”

So with that, we wanted to let our friends and family know our plans. Yes, we are going to go see Bozeman in a few weeks (after I get the big art show done, we are going to go rent a car and take a day trip down there) and go see the campus and housing and go check out the city. Yes, you Trekkies out there, we are going to go find The Plaque from First Contact. I *have* to go see this! The current idea is to move down there ~20 August.  School starts 27 August, so we will have the week to settle in. Good thing I didn’t toss out all those moving boxes?