My kiddos are back in school, but an unimaginable chain of events have occurred for us over here. Day two of school I get a school-wide e-mail that states PCB levels, above EPA standards have been found in the school and there is concern over the threat these levels may impose. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this some kind of bad science fiction joke? My heart started racing as I googled PCB ~ and the more I read the more I knew what I had to do. I went to the town hall meeting that evening to advocate for all of the children at the school. I even got up and spoke, but very quickly it became all too clear that only one person could truly protect my children & only one person really had any vested interest in their long-term health, me.
For sake of an extremely detailed story I will summarize by saying that my bad-ass self, who never accepts no for an answer, got my kids a "medical" transfer to another Lexington elementary school. It took days of persistence that I truly did not know I had. If the medical transfer had not been approved I was looking at moving to another townhouse on the other side of town or staying here and homeschooling. Neither task would have been ideal given our already taxed situation, but I stood firm that we would make this work. I cried so much in the days that led up to getting the green light on the transfer, wondering how much more one very weary mama could handle.
I got an e-mail on Friday from my kiddos new school that stated they had been awarded a Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence, such an honor, as only 308 schools in the nation were picked! Yes, everything does happen for a reason and my kids are settling in just beautifully. Ava, my second grader, told me yesterday that she loves her new group of friends & she loves being the only white girl in that group!! The cultural lessons have been profound and for sake of confidentiality I feel it best not to share the details. Hayden, my 4th grader, has met a few fellow hockey players but is especially enjoying the new friendship of a girl in his class who seems to bring him unending happiness. It is really fabulous to see two kids of the opposite sex, at this age, who have NOT been childhood playmates kindle a friendship and support each other. She is always asking about his allergy treatments and cheering him on & he is trying to figure out how to best support her through her parents divorce. The life lessons we are working through humble me as I try to find the right words to help my children understand these delicate situations.
My husband came out and spent several days with us last week & we are both in 100% agreement that our marriage has NEVER been this firmly planted. I am endlessly grateful to have him as my life partner. Saying goodbye to him is becoming more difficult for all of us, but this time it was Hayden who took goodbye very hard. Maybe it is because he so desperately needs his father around with all the estrogen he has to deal with every day (me, Ava & Maggie)! Hayden announced that dad should just stay with us until July "...afterall who needs more money when we have eachother, please mom & dad?" If only it was that easy little man. So until Bryan's return I will balance roles of mom & dad, especially as hockey season has begun. I must say the locker room situation is getting a bit awkward now, with me being the only mom in there tying skates, but like all the other kids Hayden wants his parent to do his too. And where I go, so do my girls, who cannot be left unsupervised, so we have become Hayden's entourage in the locker room! What's a mom to do?
On the allergy front we are rocking and rolling right along! Hayden has daily doses of egg, dairy, wheat, & sesame. Every time he turns around I am putting more food in front of him, it's wildly fantastic to watch him enjoy foods he has never experienced. I wonder if I will ever tire of this? I intend to post pictures this week of our food celebrations & milestones!
Amanda
"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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