The last day of school was Tuesday June 9. Before I could even worry about the long summer stretching out in front of me, summer school started.
Yep, it started this morning and lasts for five weeks. The day is shorter and starts earlier than the regular year, so we have to adjust. The school bus will arrive at 7:24AM, a full hour earlier than the regular year and Maggie will return home at 12:30. I drove her this morning because of all the supplies we had to transfer from the old site. I left her with her familiar and wonderful nurse and with all the same classmates as the regular school year. It is in a different place with a different teacher and aides, but there is enough familiar that I am not too worried about her.
When I came home, Steve asked if Maggie was scared. I said no. The only one who looked scared was the teacher. She had four nonverbal kids in wheelchairs and was clearly overwhelmed as she walked into the classroom with a basket full of breakfast items. It did not help when the nurse said only two of the kids eat. The teacher said quizzically, “I beg your pardon.” And the nurse advised that two of them have g-tubes. (Gastrostomy or feeding tubes for those of you not familiar with the lingo). Breakfast was the first activity of the day and two of the four could not participate. The next activity was to make pudding, but Maggie cannot even touch that stuff or she gets terrible hives. The nurse knows all that so Maggie is safe. The teacher looked stricken and I took that as a sign to leave. The last thing that poor woman needed was a parent making judgments. The teacher will be great I’m sure, but it may take a few days to get the “deer in the headlights” look off her face.
Summer school is chaotic on the best day, and day 1 is a joke. Maggie did fine, but for the first time ever she used her communication device to tell her nurse she wanted to go home. This was at 11:00AM, an hour before the day ended. Maggie came home and crashed. She’s been sleeping for an hour already. Anytime she has a new situation she handles it fine while she’s there and then just shots down to recharge.
It’s a good game plan.
Unrelated: Steve and I went up to the Marin Headlands on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day and we acted like tourists, even though this spot is probably less than 6 miles from my house. How about that view!
