Kindergarten!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Lila starts kindergarten at a new school tomorrow.  She will be attending a typical kindergarten class with some para support when she needs it.  

I am so excited.

It probably seems weird that she is starting kindergarten at a new school tomorrow 

when we have been in Colorado for over a month. 

It has been a bit of a journey.  

When we came to Colorado in early December on our house-hunting trip

I spoke with the Assistant Director of the Special Education department 

from the school district we wanted Lila to attend.  

We had a few phone conversations during the month of December

and Lila and I met with her when we first arrived in January.  

We thought we had everything in place!

Unfortunately, the temporary house we were leasing

was in a different school district.  

The lady that owns the house has grown kids 

and didn't have first-hand experience

but said that she regularly saw school buses 

from the district we had chosen.   

We should have double-checked.  

We didn't.

Imagine my disappointment

(shock, anger, tears) 

when I went to the district office to register Lila for school

and found out our house was

in a different district. 

Less than two blocks from the boundary.

Not the end of the world, for sure. 

But extremely disappointing.  

Especially after all the work I had done to make sure

everything was in order 

and Lila would be exactly where we thought she should be. 

The next day the girls and I were out and about 

when Tif and I decided to go to Starbucks.  

It was extremely cold- the wind was blowing like crazy.   

We decided that I would go in

and Tif would stay in the car with the little ones.  

When I walked in there was nobody in line.  

Awesome!  

Then I remembered I hadn't even asked Tif what she wanted.  

Feeling silly, I went into the bathroom to text her. 

She answered right away and I walked back out of the bathroom.  

To a line of 8 people.  

Wow.

I headed to the back of the line and realized that I was standing by the lady 

that Lila and I had met with from the Special Education department.  

Really?   

I asked her if she remembered me and she said, "Of course!  

You're Lila's mom!  I just can't remember your name."   

We chatted about what had happened, 

She was very supportive and encouraging. 

She even asked me if Tif had found a job.

I told her to keep Lila's file close because we were moving to her district. 

Soon.

I got back in the car and said to Tif,  "Do you believe in Divine Intervention?"  

I do.

I had been feeling pretty down about the situation.  

Feeling like I had failed my little girl.  

A chance meeting in Starbucks was all I needed to motivate me

and get me back on track.

Fast forward through crazy house hunting

bizarre wallpaper in one house, a huge 6 X 5 foot amphibian

cage in the living room of another.

And moving chaos.  

You don't wanna know.  

Well, maybe the wallpaper is worth sharing. 

I snapped a few shots with my cell phone. 

If you have wallpaper and love it- I'm sorry about the little detour in this post 

where I'm poking a bit of fun at the wallpaper.

I'm just not a wallpaper kinda girl.

 Powder room and Master Bathroom.  Nice, eh?

 Thanks to an old friend of mine who directed us to a military by owner website, 

we located the perfect house for us. 

As soon as I had a copy of the lease, 

I headed back to the district office

that I had left crying 

3 weeks ago.  

Success.

Lila was registered for school.

The school we requested is not Lila's home school.

It's the school that was part of the original plan.  

Out in the forest, where our first temporary house was.  

Where we love it.  

Where there are more trees than people. 

(Is that bad?)

They granted our request. 

Lila will be attending the school we chose for her.

I was happy. 

It felt like things were starting to come together.  

They called me from the school and asked if Lila and I 

wanted to come out for a tour of the school. 

The school among the trees.  

 They were so welcoming.  

They were expecting us 3 weeks ago, then they got the call that

it wasn't going to work out right now.

The lady giving us the tour said to Lila,

"We didn't expect to see you this year!" 

I just smiled.  

They don't know her mother.

 

I wasn't sure what to expect when Lila started school. 

We hadn't gotten to that point 3 weeks ago.

I knew what I had requested but I wasn't clear 

on the decision that had been made.  

So I asked. 

"Where will Lila be placed when she starts school on Thursday?"  

The woman who was giving us the tour is the 

head of  the special education program at the school.

She looked at me like she didn't understand the question.  

She asked me what I meant. 

I said, "Will Lila be in the typical kindergarten classroom?"  

She said, "Of course she will!  There is no reason for her not to be there." 

Then she went on to say, 

"We have a wonderful staff.  

The teachers here want all students to be 

included in their classrooms."

And you know what?  

I believe her.

The reputation of the school

backs up what she said.

I drove out of the parking lot

with happy tears in my eyes.

Feeling like our girl is 

right where she is supposed to be.

 

We are happy with her placement.

We are grateful for how things turned out.

Kindergarten is a pretty big thing!

She's ready.

There will be more quality time

with this one.

Which was also part of the original plan.

P.S.  Lila has been going to school during this time.

We gave the other school district a try.

It was a 3 hour a day, 4 day a week

preschool program.

It just wasn't right for our girl.