Welcome Weekend

Thankfully the weekend has arrived. Both Nathan and Erin each had BBQs at their respective schools today, so Cris went to Nathan's BBQ and I went to Erin's BBQ. Erin's BBQ was fun and relaxing the the kids all seemed to be enjoying themselves. I love watching the kids with special needs interact with one another and I just wish that everyone could see that these kids are just like any other kid. Their conversations may be unique or not part of the norm but the interactions and friendships that they develop with one another are just like everyone. I was sitting on the grass today with one of Erin's friends who is autistic. He was literally reciting the movie Aladdin word for word and encouraging his friends to chime in as well. It was fun because they were laughing and goofing around just like everyone does when you're having fun. I just find that kind of thing magical.

Erin hung out with her friends Gunnar and Jordan. They played hide and seek, and listened to music, and whacked a pinata that was filled with goodies. They talked about what they were going to do over the weekend and the upcoming summer months.

I met a couple of new parents that I have not met before. This is where I have alot of trouble. Their perspectives about the abilities of our kids are dramatically different from mine. I get the lecture about what our kids will not be able to do and I just have to walk away. I want a balance of academics and life skills in Erin's curriculum. Most of these parents just want their kids to have functional abilities and forget about academics. I just can't do that. Erin is only 15 years old. I expect her to continue learning and growing and mastering the same topics as any other high school student, albeit not necessary at the same level, but still I don't want anyone to say to me, we just need to focus on life skills. Heck fire, I'm almost 46 years old and I'm still learning life skills. Erin does well when she is stretched a little bit. She has to work harder but in the end she feels so much pride in completing her homework and mastering academics that everyone said she would never be able to do. It takes a lot of time, but it's worth it. Every child is different, so I can only look at what I think is working best for Erin. I just think that some of these parents give up too quickly and take the easy road out. The school districts are all focused on their budgets and they are going to focus efforts on what the majority of parents seek for their child. When their child falls out of the school district system, then the regional centers pick up and social services kick in, and the parents are off the hook as the child is now an adult. Since most the parents want functional supports, the academics get pushed further and further down the list of priorities, making parents like me who seek a balance between the two areas have to stand up and say this is not OK. I become the lone parent that everyone seems to think is in denial. I'm not in denial, I'm just focused on making the most of her education with the gifts she has. So I'll just keep saying no, no, no, she still needs an English class, a math class, and a science class. I've been pleased with the district teachers so far and they are listening and we've made adjustments to Erin's course work to allow her to continue to mainstream into regular education classes, but it always feels like a battle. Erin keeps telling me that she wants to go to college like Frances. How can I not try to help her make that wish come true? We have to try. If she doesn't make it, then so be it, at least she will have done her best and that's all that anyone can ask.

Our former aupair Karin will be arriving on Tuesday from Sweden. I'm so happy that she's coming for a visit. She was our aupair two years ago and she was just a wonderful person. The kids loved her so much. Erin and Karin became really close over the course of the year and it was so fun the see how Karin's perspectives changed about people with down syndrome in particular. She spoke with me about it before she went home and the one thing that struck me was that she said, "Erin REALLY is like everybody else."

Frances will be off with her friends this weekend as she has several younger friends who are graduating from high school this year. So party, party, party for her.

Cris and I decided last night that there must be fleas in the house cause something has been biting all of us for the last couple of days. Onyx had his bath and flea treatment on Monday and we bought him a new bed for our bedroom and tossed out his old one. He's an indoor dog for the most part and we've never ever had any issues before, but my neighbor told me that the fleas are bad this year and the animals are all bringing them in. That means we'll be fogging the house tomorrow and I'll be washing every one's bedding just to be sure that we don't start the summer on an itchy note.

Tonight I'm roasting chicken and white rice. We still have some leftover pie from Memorial day and I'll have to figure out a veggie to go with the chicken. I think there is still some bell peppers and carrots in the frig. Oh, and of course a good glass of wine to go with it will be nice.

I pulled out my old high school yearbook today and read a few of the entries from friends and looked at pictures. That was fun! One of my friends called me, "Ole dingy Donna." Huh? Really, was I dingy? I don't remember...but then again high school was a long time ago.