Thanks for starting this thread, Pseudolus. It's the perfect place to announce this news.

Some of you are familiar with the difficulties my stepdaughter Emily has had. She was part of a long, nasty custody battle and spent a few years living with her dad, who was emotionally abusive (that's why my wife left him). When she came to us, she was angry at the world, and especially herself; had already flunked her 9th-grade year; and couldn't see beyond the moment.

Well........She wound up dropping out of school when she turned 16 and basically screwed off for the next year. Last fall, she decided to go live with her father for a while to take advantage of a free GED program in Virginia (we live in Maryland). She called us last night with the results.

She Made It!!!!!!!!!!

We are so proud and happy for her we could just explode. She set her sights on her target and accomplished it. She worked hard and even managed to put up with her father at the same time. Emily is so pumped about this that she now realizes that anything is possible. She told us, "I had to go back to school to find out I'm not stupid."

Thanks for the opportunity to share.

jeffp