03Sep07 - School Tomorrow

Lucy seemed a little better today although she must still be feeling a bit tender. She still went to Nursery all day without any problems. Joshua spent the last day of the holidays watching some dvd's that he bought with his holiday money. He is excited about school tomorrow as he will be head boy. It is Lucy's first day at school tommorow. Dawn has bought her a little grey dress, white shirt and a pink rucksack. I will put a photo on tomorrow's blog. Her best friend Laila Brown also starts tomorrow at the same school so it will be lovely to see them both together. Both Dawn and myself will take Joshua and Lucy to school tomorrow which has worked out really well. Lucy's school is a brand new state of the art special school. She has been attending nusery sessions there every Friday for a while and we have got to know the staff and teachers quite well. It must be a daunting prospect for many parents in our situation taking their children to special school for the first time. Fortunately Dawn got herself involved with the school very early and it is clear that there is no better place for Lucy. In fact we are fortunate that we have such a good school in our area. There is a link to the school's website under "Links". Lucy will just be going in the mornings for the first 18 months but will also be going to her old nusery for two afternoons as well. We don't want Lucy to lose the contact and interaction she gets from being around the children at her "mainstream" nursery. Dawn is looking forward to getting some of her own time back as she has been totally immersed in caring for Lucy, going to appointments, doing physio, listening to people tell her what to do with Lucy etc, etc for the last 3 years. People outside our very different world cannot appreciate what a drain the constant stream of hospital appointments and home visits is on your energy and emotions. I have been constantly guilty of overlooking the day to day stresses that Dawn has been under from my detached position as the father who goes out to work. It is not only the fact that there are so many people offering advice, from Physiotherapists, Doctors, Play Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Dieticians, Family, Friends and strangers, it is the feeling of guilt when there is not enough time or energy in the day to do all the things you are supposed to do. Dawn has coped brilliantly with all this and has carried more than her fair share of the burden. It is great that she can now look forward to getting some of her life back, having time to herself, going horse riding, having time to relax and think about herself for change. Lucy will also benefit from a little of her own independance. Tomorrow is a big day!