First Field Trip

October 30, 2009

First Field Trip

Oliver had his first field trip yesterday. His class went to the same pumpkin patch we took the kids to last week. His teacher wrote me to say just how much fun he had. She was excited because of all the physical therapy practice he had while playing - going up/down stairs, sitting to slide, balancing on a merry-go-round, climbing/stepping through trains and tractors. And of course the dirt pile.

He has been doing so well at school. The teacher says he is very bright and continuing to learn new things. He says (approximates) hi & bye. He is attempting to say 2 boys' names, Jack & Zach. They both come out "ack", but still! He loves circle time and still wants to turn on the music to sing. He also loves cleaning up - he is like his mommy - and rings the bell to signal that it is time to clean up for the day.

They have also started putting him on the potty each morning, so it looks like I am going to begin the process. That was an incredibly stressful ordeal for Waverly. We worked on it for 1.5 years and she never got it. At least my expectations will be low for Oliver, but it will be nice to at least get him used to the toilet.

I am off to Oli's school this morning for his costume parade and party. I hope to hide out a little bit, so I can observe him. I know when he sees me, he will shift his attention. I am really looking forward to seeing him in action.

Comments

Anonymous said…

It's lovely to hear that he's having a good time & making friends. Enjoy the parade!

October 30, 2009 at 3:59 PM

Welcome to Holland

By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.