Day: August 27, 2009

The ninth grade guidance counselor was amazing with Kiki. She listened to everything that Kiki had to say and several times complimented Kiki on expressing herself well. Then called in a kind and cheerful administrator so that we could move Kiki out of the classes that she was concerned about and into classes that Kiki will enjoy much more. We didn’t even have to rearrange any of Kiki’s other classes. Kiki walked out of there with a spring to her step and new confidence in her eyes. Now she and I both know that her counselor is an excellent ally.

For Link we’ve scheduled a round of testing just to see where he is currently. We’ll then take those tests and have an IEP meeting to discuss what to do for him for this year. I strongly feel that he needs to be out of resource. It is what he wants and I want to see how well he keeps up. I think he will be fine. This is a good year to test before Link heads off into the wilds of Junior High. I also met with Link’s doctor today. We’re keeping the medication status quo, but I think Link feels better about it because the doctor took time to really listen and talk directly to Link rather than just talking with me.

Gleek’s teacher spoke with me on the phone and it sounds like they are beginning to develop the structure and relationship that they need to get through the year together. I still need to keep tabs on this to make sure that both of them continue to feel good about the relationship. I may need to volunteer in the classroom at some point during the year so that I am more in touch with what is going on there.

I may be running out of “benefit of doubt” to extend to the new elementary principal. His extensive letter on exactly how parents are allowed to pick up and drop off kids has been followed up with a long letter describing the shiny new discipline policy which involves the use of a time out room (under a different name.) I agree in principle with most of the changes he is putting into place, but the implementation of the policies will determine whether this is a beneficial change or a dictatorial regime. My kids miss their old principal already. I sympathize, but I’m waiting to see how things shake out. I am also curious about how the teachers feel about these new policies. The teachers will be the ones doing the implementing.

We still have lots more adjusting to do. More than I expected this year. But I’m going to sleep better tonight.

I’m not sure where the line is between realization and epiphany. I suspect it is that epiphanies change one’s life while realizations change only the day, week, or month. If this is so, then today I had a realization. I ended yesterday tied in emotional worry-knots over the various challenges of my various children. On one level I knew that it is all going to be okay, but my brain would not stop fretting. A large part of the fret is that I knew I needed to have at least five different conversations with five different adults about the needs of my kids. All of these conversations need to take place either today or tomorrow. My brain was creating sample dialogs until the wee hours of the morning while simultaneously fretting that being over-tired would not help any of the conversations. Even this afternoon with two of the conversations begun (but not complete. grr.) I am still fretful. So I abandoned my self to the fret for a few minutes. For lack of a child to snuggle, I grabbed Patch’s giant stuffed dog and curled up for a think. This is when the realization hit. I am stressed because I am team building. These conversations are to determine whether these other adults will be allies, obstacles, or enemies to the needs of my children. I am embarking on a new school year and I don’t yet have my team in place. I don’t know how much burden is going to fall on me and how much I can rely on the teachers and/or administrators. This shift in perspective removes some of the stress. So far I’ve identified one potential ally and one potential obstacle. I’ve also identified an additional person with whom I need to converse. So I have four more conversations to go. Building alliances is exhausting.