The Morning Rain

The rain finally ended on my ride into work...

A Bit of Good News

Just got a phone call that Sam is accepted into the program for the coming school year. Many details, such as transportation, still need to be worked out, but I'm told those issues typically get addressed starting sometime around April or May. I feel relieved, but I'll feel even more relieved once the papers have been signed. Still...

Thank goodness.

A Little More of the Same

Sam was on vacation last week. Usually, I try to take a day off and spend it with him and I try to do something special -  to make him feel a little special. But with all of the time I’ve been taking up dealing with these other “behind the scenes” things, and all of the time they take up, I didn't feel I could afford a day off.

I feel kind of bad about it. Sam managed to make it out for an ice cream, so I guess that was good. I sure that's no problem as far as he's concerned. He loves being nothing more than being home. But it’s good for him to get out and a vacation should be a little more than that.

But he’s back to school this week and unlike me at his age, he seems fine with it.

For me, the last few days have been more of the same - lists of phone calls, and setting up, or trying to set up, meetings.

Yesterday, it was a phone call to the Special Ed director (IEP time is fast approaching) and a phone call to the person in charge of the program that I’m hoping to get him into next fall. Or rather, it was a call their voicemail.

Other than that, it was pretty light on the Sam front - just an evening of trying to weed through, and organize the mass of paperwork, after getting him some dinner. That, and trying to fight off sleep until a more acceptable nine o’clock.

Today, I managed to squeeze in another phone call to Sam’s special Ed Director (with some additional concerns and comments about the upcoming meeting), and I had a long, but inconclusive conversation with a lawyer about guardianship.

I have more calls to make, but for tomorrow, I’m hoping to keep it to just one. That one will be to the MRC - to let them know that I finally got all of the DDS forms filled out and sent out in the mail, and to see if we need to arrange another meeting.

And then I hope to be able to take a break for a day or two.

I still feel bad about that vacation - like I let him down. But at least, in a couple of nights, it will be Monk Night. That’s something we both look forward to. Then it will be another Saturday of running errands together and maybe we'll pick out another weekend baking project. It's not quite a vacation, but it's not too bad, either.

It's Worse Than I Thought

It just occurred to me that, other the that walk that I just went on with Sam, the only other recent highlight in my life was finding a decent toilet bowl brush.

First of the Year

Tonight, Sam and I went on our first official Walk Around the Block of the year. In truth, it was really a half of a Walk Around the Block. The lingering afternoon sunlight looked deceptively warm from the dining room table, so I asked Sam if he wanted to squeeze in a quick walk. He was all for it. We've been talking about looking forward to this for weeks.

So, we got on our jackets, but when we got outside, we found that the wind, which is not something you can see from the dining room table, was blowing gently, but steadily, and much colder than either of us expected. Half way around the block, with the wind still steadily at our faces, I asked Sam if we should turn around and head back home - or continue on. He wanted to continue on.

I told him the wind would be better when we rounded the corner, figuring that it wouldn't be blowing directly in our faces. I was wrong. And I was wrong on the next corner, too. No matter which direction we headed in, the wind was blowing in our faces.

This was like one of those magical grilling types of wind - where no matter where you stand, the smoke gets blown in your face. All that was missing was the smoke and the warmth and the burning sensation in the eyes. Other than that, it was exactly like it.

We got about half way around the block and I said to Sam, "Follow me" - and I proceeded to cut through the edge of someone's yard, to where it met a street parallel to ours.  "Good idea" said Sam, and he followed along behind me.

We turned at the end of the street and headed back towards our road and I noticed that one of Sam's shoes was untied. When I pointed it out to Sam, he said, "That's Ok. I'll get it when we get home." That's how you know when Sam's either cold, tired, in a hurry - or some combination of all three. He doesn't stop to do something that he habitually does.

But we made it home just fine and, despite the wind, it was nice to get outside. We've both been cooped up this week - in different places, for different reasons. And it was especially nice to get outside, together.

A Minor Update

I have been occupying my time lately with trying not to think about Sam's placement for next year. The meeting that was snowed out about a week or so ago, instead took place this past Friday. Everything seemed to go smoothly. The teachers were very nice and the program seemed as though it would be a very good fit for him - which is what is making me nervous. We're supposed to hear by the end of this week whether he'll be able to go or not. In the mean time, I won't be thinking about it.

Tonight's Video Clip

Be kind to yourself.