A Reminder

Today was a very emotional day for me.  Matt and I spent the morning visiting 2 school options for Waverly this fall.  She is technically starting kindergarten, so as we create her IEP we wanted to see the various class options that are available.  We already know that a mainstream classroom is not the best environment for her.  So we visited a self-contained class in an elementary school for children with moderate to severe special needs.  We also visited the Kilmer Center.  It is an incredible school exclusively for children with very severe disabilities.  

We knew going in that the Kilmer Center would most likely not be the best choice for Wavey next year, but we thought that down the road this would be a wonderful resource.  From the moment I walked in the Kilmer Center's front door I choked back the tears.  And as we took a tour with the principal and explored the different classes and met the students, I was overwhelmed by what the future holds for my kids.  The last classroom we visited contained the youngest students and I saw a little girl flapping her hand in just the same way as Waverly.  I burst into tears and I had to leave.  Wavey's preschool teacher accompanied us and she followed me out.  She gave me a big hug and said that she can't imagine how scary this is for us.

Moments later I saw my happy, smiling little girl.  She is still walking (although quite clumsily) and she is singing her beautiful songs.  She smiles and laughs all of the time.  She is such a happy little girl.  But I couldn't help but look ahead to all of the terrible changes in store and cry.