Back to School...Already

Back to School...Already

This morning I packed up Oliver's lunchbox and backpack for his first day of summer school. I am so thankful we live in a county that offers extended school year. For the next 6 weeks he will spend his mornings in one of our local elementary schools. He will work on a few select IEP goals and socialize with some other preschoolers. In a wonderful surprise, his summer school teacher is actually his teacher for the fall. She knows Oliver already, which is a huge relief. He has difficulties with transitions and new environments, so having a familiar face is a huge blessing.

Oli was a bit surprised when I took him out to the bus this morning. He is used to riding with Waverly. However, he got right on with minimal tears. He is such a good boy. The report from his teacher was positive. He had a great day.

Wavey starts her 4 week program next week. I love getting back into a routine after a few weeks off.

Comments

Joanne Huff said…

Hi Shannon,

Neat! Sasha started her program yesterday too. It really is nice to get her back on a routine and to have a small break. She is like a different person when she is in school as opposed to out. I think it gives her morale a real boost! Hope Oliver has a great week! Joanne

July 6, 2011 at 3:17 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.