College apps

Last week was noteworthy, and in spite of being in such bad pain (my lame back), I was happy.
The past couple of weeks, we have been starting the process of Adam's college applications.  I have thought long and hard about this one - because we need him to get out of the house and be a big boy, yet he isn't really ready to be completely on his own yet (and truth be told, I think he is terrified to be out on his own).  He told us awhile ago that he had been praying about whether he should go on his mission at 18, and felt that he shouldn't.  Which we agree with, wholeheartedly!  So college it is.  But where?  Not too stressful, safe (emotionally and physically) environment, relatively easy admission....the one place I have felt so good about is SUU.  Southern Utah University, located in Cedar City UT, minutes away from three cousins, and 20 minutes away from grandparents and an aunt and uncle who are pretty much 2nd parents to him.  He has spent a lot of time in Cedar City, is familiar with it, and I think he would be super comfortable there.  But.  There's that little pesky issue of non-resident tuition...TRIPLE the cost of resident tuition!  Truly, we would be crazy to pay that, when he could go to BYU Idaho where it is super cheap.  (I have no problem with BYU-I except that it is so stinking far away from everyone.  Even our ID relatives live like 7 hrs away.  Who knew that ID was such a big state?)  So I have been looking at all kinds of scholarships, trying to find a way to make SUU work.
I called their admissions office just to ask about application deadlines (I figured he should apply just in case of a miracle), and I got into a great conversation with the girl in the admissions office.  We talked about all the tuition costs and options...then she said to me,"Did you or your husband graduate from SUU?  Or any grandparents? Because we have what is called the Legacy Scholarship that could make tuition comparable to resident tuition."  I about fainted.  My mother got her Associates degree at SUU!  A bazillion years ago, but still a degree!  She connected me with the scholarship office and I found out that there are two kinds of scholarships that Adam could qualify for - the Legacy Scholarship, and a Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship (which makes it affordable for out of staters to go to SUU).  Either one would bring the cost down - not as low as BYU-I, but certainly comparable!  And doable.  You have no idea what a miracle this is!  So of course, we got that application filled out and off to the admissions office immediately.  As soon as Adam gets accepted (which will happen, he has good enough GPA and ACT score to get in there), then we apply for the scholarships.  Made my week!
And we are in process of filling out Adam's application for the BYU's.  He wrote his first essay "the most challenging thing I have had to overcome" or something like that.  Of course, he wrote about his bipolar diagnosis.  And he ended the darned essay with this sentence, "I couldn't have come through this without my family, especially my sister Megan Wright, who goes to BYU Provo and is currently serving a mission in Fiji.  I am not ashamed to say that she is the best friend I have ever had, and I love her very much."  I have to make a copy of that and send it to Meg.  She will love it.
So, yay!  College!