Thankful Thursday

I don't feel very thankful today. We are completely broke and payday isn't until tomorrow. My meal plans for this week have been creative, but not well received. I'm trying my best and I know that next week will be better. School fees hit us hard, and it seems there are more mandatory fees added every week. My daughter attends public school, so the fact that we are required to pay fees is unbelievable!

What happened to a free public education? And I'm not talking about $20 for class materials. Oh, no! Textbook rental, student i.d., course fees, the list goes on and on. These are mandatory fees. Seriously. "Base" fees were over $200. In addition to that, there are class fees, such as $10 for English. We SPEAK English! It blows my mind that we have to pay for everything. We live close to the school, so my daughter can walk to and from school each day. God help you if you live farther than us. Bus fees are $90 per semester. That was no typo, NINETY DOLLARS! It's unreal.

Keep in mind, this is not an advanced school or performing arts high school, this is a public high school. All together we've had to lay out over $400 for this semester. We didn't have that much money. In order for our daughter to start school, we had to sign a payment agreement. This agreement states that we would pay the entire amount due within the first month of school. They wouldn't even give us her class schedule until we signed it. Just in case you think they aren't completely serious about getting their money, last year they wouldn't give us her first quarter report card because there was an additional course fee of $25 when she switched from study hall to art. What really burns my biscuits is that these are required credits to graduate. OMG!

Back to Thankful Thursday. Sometimes we have to look past our troubles and find something to be thankful for. Sometimes thankfulness is difficult to muster. I suppose that's the reason for Thankful Thursday, to look past those things that bother us, and find some amount of peace. Today I am thankful that my daughter takes her studies seriously and really enjoys her time at school. I'm also thankful that sticking to my diet has been pretty easy this month.

Kisses to all.
Heather