I would just like to thank each and every one of my fellow students for taking this journey with me. I was a bit nervous when I set out on the path of online learning, coming from a totally traditional educaiton backround. I didn't know what to expect. Being able to communication and get to know each and every one of you through our discussions and blogs have shown me that it really is possible to get that classroom like atmosphere and collaboration without actually being in the same place. I appreciate the responces each of you have shared, not just on my work, but on everyones. I have learned so much from just reading through the responses of others and would not have been able to do this without all of you. Thank you and good luck on the rest of your journey and I hope we will talk again soon, in class or otherwise.

Contact information:
My person email is Swie2230@yahoo.com   and this is be best way to contact me for whatever reason.

Adjourning Stage of Development

Adjourning Stage:

I believe that the hardest part about leaving a group is when you have invested much of yourself and taken in the others you have been working with. What I mean is, that if I was going to do a job with a team of people, we come in for our day, we work, hardly talking unless it has to do with our project and at the end of the day punch out, and go home. There is no vested interest in the people i am working with, only the need to get the work completed. Those connections have been made so saying goodbye at the end, whether successful or not would not be difficult for me. I believe that many of us can say the same thing.

Being able to say goodbye to those you have built those strong connections with can be extremely difficult. You are involved with them on a personal level and it can create lasting relationships even after the project is over. Having rituals is important to saying goodbye. Some places have a small party, or sign a card to give to the person leaving. Sometimes it's going out to have a drink to celebrate a job well done. Whatever the case may be, the rituals we have helps to put a finality to the ending state.

I believe that it will be easier to leave this group of colleagues that I have here over say leaving where I work for a new job. Even though we have been engaged and working with each other for over a year now, those one-on-one connections are not as strong through an internet based course. I am not saying that this is how everyone feels, but this is just my feelings. I think I have to have those in person conversations when you can look a person in the eye when talking to them to help form those bonds. We have the commonality of going through the same experiences together, and working together but not the interaction and that is a totally different thing.

Conflict

So one conflict that I have recently had was a disagreement with my husband. We don't argue often but when we do it always seems to be over the same things. This time it was over the fact that my dog sometimes has accidents in the house. She has them in a room we never really go into, so it seems to me like she is hiding the fact that she does it. My husband gets all grumpy about it, but at the same time doesn't really ever do anything to fix the problem. I try to explain that it is just like children, consistency is key, but I can't do it alone.
One thing that I learned from this week, is that I need to stay calm and try to listen to what he is saying and how he is feeling. I usually go into automatic defense mode and my hackles are raised. This does not help, as I end up usually just end up disregarding what he says because I feel attacked, instead of just listening and sifting through the information.

The other thing that I learned, is that we really need to try and form a list of solutions and pick one that works for both of us. Getting rid of the dog is NOT an option, so we need to come up with something else that we are both willing to work with. Maybe that way we can work as a team, and not as opposing forces trying to get to the same solution different ways. I have also learned that this is easier said than done, but I really feel that if we take the time to do the steps in conflict resolution consciously, it will be easier to get through each time something happens and to work through it.

I have attached a picture of my sweet baby Sophie, so you can see why it is so difficult to stay mad at her, and then go for each other throats!!! She is JUST TOO CUTE to be grumpy with... don't you think??!?