Sunny, but rainy, day

Today, despite lots of gray and rain in Seattle, seems much brighter. We're ready for a long Memorial Day week-end on Whidbey Island - all we have to do is bike, play, swing, laugh and relax. It's amazing how much a break from the routine refreshes us all. It's so nice to not have any therapy, appointments, schools, or other heavy stuff to think about - bring on the four day week-end!! David and I are starting to realize how important this time for our family is - in the past, we might have wanted to squeeze in an extra therapy session or not let Taylor go four days without therapy. Now, we recognize that we all need a break every once in awhile. I will pick Lauren up from school in a few hours and then we're off to meet Jacob, Taylor and David, who went to Whidbey last night. Taylor hates the ferry line (which can be long on holiday week-ends), so they tried to miss it last night after Jacob's last Tball game of the season.

I had a good cry yesterday. I hadn't had one in months and usually don't indulge myself, but one had been brewing so I let it rip yesterday. We are in the process of touring preschool programs for Taylor and it is a hard process. We are very hopeful she can stay at the EEU, but once she turns three in August we have to go through Seattle Public Schools assignment programs. She's had to "qualify" for services - a laughable 2 hour meeting, which requires piles of follow-up paperwork - and yesterday we toured our closest public school to see their special needs program. It was another really hard moment for me - we toured the stereotypical "short bus" and the classroom of 13 special needs kids. It's not unlike the EEU, but fewer teacher/student ratio and less immersion of typical developing kids. For these reasons, we really want her to stay at the EEU. In any case, for politics, it is important to show that we've done our homework and researched all options. For me, it was another moment of "I can't believe it" - sometimes it still hits me out of the blue that we're in this world. I want Taylor to go to any school she wants and it's just not an option. I don't want to worry about her getting knocked over and her arms not protecting her head if she falls, or kids with behavioral problems (of which there are more in these programs) hitting her. The list is long and as David and I sat with the adminstrator yesterday, I fought back tears. I knew crying in front of her was probably not the best "political" move since everyone is always proud of their school.

So, after we left I gave in to a good, solid cry and after some hugs from David, all is well again. It's amazing how a good cry can ease your soul and the heaviness of worry gets washed away. I also said a good loud prayer and I think God heard me because I feel much better today. We're ready for a fun and relaxing week-end.

I'm sorry I'm behind on posting pictures - our other computer that holds our digital photos is on the fritz, but I'll get caught up. Despite the sadness of the last few posts, we've had a fun and busy spring - I was so proud of Jacob at his last Tball game - he got his first trophy and just beamed with pride. The big kids have also started swim team and they are enjoying the pool time - even in the rain. Thankfully it is heated. We haven't had a lot of nights at home amidst our activities, but we're grateful for the fun and friendship we all have at these events.