Keeping tabs
A lots of things are looming closer now. As per custom, all at once, but I'm used to it - once it's calming down, usually everything calms down at once as well, so it evens out.
My son turned 5 on Tuesday. He did not have a pleasant birthday, since he's been in meltdown from morning to dinner. At dinner, I had to put my foot down "Enough is enough". He didn't know how to get out of this bad mood spiral he was caught into, but after I made a firm intervention and set the limit clearly (he fought it but to no avail), he calmed down and I could give him some explanation of what happened in the day up to that moment. Then, I asked him if he wanted to remain sad until bedtime or if he wanted to "get better" and play before bedtime. Glad he opted for the later :)
So, his cake and gifts had to wait to the next day, on Wednesday. It was somewhat a heartbreak to see how his birthday was trashed, -on- his birthday, but at least, we could celebrate his birthday nonetheless yesterday. One day of delay doesn't take away the meaning of the celebration :) He was very happy and I took picture of his smile. Storing up good moments for rainy days is always a good idea.
Tonight was the parents meeting at school. Yes, it's beginning. I realized that there were quite a few parents that were very worried, more than I was. I'm not "worried", I planned all that I could and the rest is not up to me. Of course, I anticipate there will be bumps on the road, but Alex is a fighter and he doesn't give up easily, he rises to the challenge, so I'm confident it will work out.
Tomorrow morning, children can come the kinder garden between 9 and 10 am. For Alex's sake, I will take him there. I know where to anticipate the bumps, so if they happen (maybe they won't, too!), I'm set. He's looking forward to school and to take the bus (figures :P), so at least it's gonna be like granting him his wish.
There are lots of little details that I must take care of for school, and questions to which I need answers before I can decide upon these details. More phone calls are to be expected, possibly more meetings as well. I think I'm going to start writing them instead. Email would be fabulous, but it's not an option so far.
There are a lot of people I must keep tabs on, just for Alex. After struggling through the government procedures to receive support as well as help and services for my son, it's the next most draining thing. The cherry on top is the pediatrician's office. They saw Alex in October and he was scheduled to be seen again six months after that. I'm still waiting for the call, and the secretary clearly says to parents "don't call us to get an appointment, we will call you". It's not the first time they would "forget" Alex. When he was a baby, he was seen at 18 months, and he was supposed to be seen 6 months after... It took a call from the Health Services to wake them up, they had forgotten to put a notice in his file (either the paper one or the computer one, whatever). So, he has been seen 1.5 years after his previous appointment instead of 6 months. It's starting to feel the same way again. If they reaches 1 year before scheduling my son's appointment, I might file a complaint to the Québec Ombudsman. I'm not sure if they can do something since I think it's not he pediatrician but the secretaries working in the clinic (there are several pediatrician in the clinic). I love our pediatrician. She's awesome. She's not the one scheduling the appointments, though, the secretaries do. And when I call to ask why it's being delayed this much when he should receive a close follow-up, I get no satisfactory answers. "Yes, the 6 months always take longer" is all I could get. Whatever that's supposed to mean (they couldn't be bothered to explain).
Since they already made a mistake in the past, which had consequences, I'm not likely to look kindly at the current delay. If it comes to the point where I have to file a complaint, it will be yet another fight that will unjustly be shoveled on my porch, that I shouldn't have to fight on top of the rest. But I'll fight. Alex cannot fight for himself, he just turned 5 years old with atypical autism. So I'll fight and I'll win, because there is one thing you should never do:
To piss off a single mother who spent years fighting for her disabled son's rights. They tend to be fierce when it comes to protecting their child.
Aside from that, there will be the second of the two speech evaluations on Monday morning. After this, I'll likely be scheduled for yet another meeting (but that's how it goes) to discuss the results and the options.
Meetings, phone calls, contacts, follow-through, keeping tabs, returning calls, lawyer and government, lists, memos... for all kinds of details and lots of different people, trying to coordinate everything. We don't have a resource that will centralize all the procedures we have to go through because of jurisdictions, among other things. I would benefit from that, believe me.
* * *
There's also our event coming fast, one week left. I'm struggling to make a Birka tunic for my son and my sewing machine decided that it wouldn't cooperate. I can't send it for repairs because next week, there will be several days where Alex will be home all day = no sewing possible. (I won't get in the details of the "progressive entry" to kinder garden.) So if I send the machine for repairs, I'm basically ruling out both my son's garb and mine for the event.
And it's not just any event, for us. We've been incipient for almost 16 years and it will be the first time that Bois Ardent will receive the Royal visit, for the announcement of our group's elevation to full status. So, I wanted to make myself an apron-dress (right now, I'm running on the one I borrowed from freya46 and that will only do for a spell). Alex's dad has a tabard that can do, but I was hoping to make my son a tunic.
I can't sew for the life of me, by the way. I don't have sewing classes that I can attend. I'm making costly mistakes (both in money and time). But I'm not giving up just yet.
Next time, though, I think I'll hand-sew it... Sheesh. At least, I can hand-sew. Considering all the mistakes I do and what it takes to repair them (when they can be repaired), hand-sewing wouldn't require much more time, in the end.
Time, yes... I'm way past my bedtime and I need to be ready to take my son to visit his class tomorrow morning.
My son turned 5 on Tuesday. He did not have a pleasant birthday, since he's been in meltdown from morning to dinner. At dinner, I had to put my foot down "Enough is enough". He didn't know how to get out of this bad mood spiral he was caught into, but after I made a firm intervention and set the limit clearly (he fought it but to no avail), he calmed down and I could give him some explanation of what happened in the day up to that moment. Then, I asked him if he wanted to remain sad until bedtime or if he wanted to "get better" and play before bedtime. Glad he opted for the later :)
So, his cake and gifts had to wait to the next day, on Wednesday. It was somewhat a heartbreak to see how his birthday was trashed, -on- his birthday, but at least, we could celebrate his birthday nonetheless yesterday. One day of delay doesn't take away the meaning of the celebration :) He was very happy and I took picture of his smile. Storing up good moments for rainy days is always a good idea.
Tonight was the parents meeting at school. Yes, it's beginning. I realized that there were quite a few parents that were very worried, more than I was. I'm not "worried", I planned all that I could and the rest is not up to me. Of course, I anticipate there will be bumps on the road, but Alex is a fighter and he doesn't give up easily, he rises to the challenge, so I'm confident it will work out.
Tomorrow morning, children can come the kinder garden between 9 and 10 am. For Alex's sake, I will take him there. I know where to anticipate the bumps, so if they happen (maybe they won't, too!), I'm set. He's looking forward to school and to take the bus (figures :P), so at least it's gonna be like granting him his wish.
There are lots of little details that I must take care of for school, and questions to which I need answers before I can decide upon these details. More phone calls are to be expected, possibly more meetings as well. I think I'm going to start writing them instead. Email would be fabulous, but it's not an option so far.
There are a lot of people I must keep tabs on, just for Alex. After struggling through the government procedures to receive support as well as help and services for my son, it's the next most draining thing. The cherry on top is the pediatrician's office. They saw Alex in October and he was scheduled to be seen again six months after that. I'm still waiting for the call, and the secretary clearly says to parents "don't call us to get an appointment, we will call you". It's not the first time they would "forget" Alex. When he was a baby, he was seen at 18 months, and he was supposed to be seen 6 months after... It took a call from the Health Services to wake them up, they had forgotten to put a notice in his file (either the paper one or the computer one, whatever). So, he has been seen 1.5 years after his previous appointment instead of 6 months. It's starting to feel the same way again. If they reaches 1 year before scheduling my son's appointment, I might file a complaint to the Québec Ombudsman. I'm not sure if they can do something since I think it's not he pediatrician but the secretaries working in the clinic (there are several pediatrician in the clinic). I love our pediatrician. She's awesome. She's not the one scheduling the appointments, though, the secretaries do. And when I call to ask why it's being delayed this much when he should receive a close follow-up, I get no satisfactory answers. "Yes, the 6 months always take longer" is all I could get. Whatever that's supposed to mean (they couldn't be bothered to explain).
Since they already made a mistake in the past, which had consequences, I'm not likely to look kindly at the current delay. If it comes to the point where I have to file a complaint, it will be yet another fight that will unjustly be shoveled on my porch, that I shouldn't have to fight on top of the rest. But I'll fight. Alex cannot fight for himself, he just turned 5 years old with atypical autism. So I'll fight and I'll win, because there is one thing you should never do:
To piss off a single mother who spent years fighting for her disabled son's rights. They tend to be fierce when it comes to protecting their child.
Aside from that, there will be the second of the two speech evaluations on Monday morning. After this, I'll likely be scheduled for yet another meeting (but that's how it goes) to discuss the results and the options.
Meetings, phone calls, contacts, follow-through, keeping tabs, returning calls, lawyer and government, lists, memos... for all kinds of details and lots of different people, trying to coordinate everything. We don't have a resource that will centralize all the procedures we have to go through because of jurisdictions, among other things. I would benefit from that, believe me.
* * *
There's also our event coming fast, one week left. I'm struggling to make a Birka tunic for my son and my sewing machine decided that it wouldn't cooperate. I can't send it for repairs because next week, there will be several days where Alex will be home all day = no sewing possible. (I won't get in the details of the "progressive entry" to kinder garden.) So if I send the machine for repairs, I'm basically ruling out both my son's garb and mine for the event.
And it's not just any event, for us. We've been incipient for almost 16 years and it will be the first time that Bois Ardent will receive the Royal visit, for the announcement of our group's elevation to full status. So, I wanted to make myself an apron-dress (right now, I'm running on the one I borrowed from freya46 and that will only do for a spell). Alex's dad has a tabard that can do, but I was hoping to make my son a tunic.
I can't sew for the life of me, by the way. I don't have sewing classes that I can attend. I'm making costly mistakes (both in money and time). But I'm not giving up just yet.
Next time, though, I think I'll hand-sew it... Sheesh. At least, I can hand-sew. Considering all the mistakes I do and what it takes to repair them (when they can be repaired), hand-sewing wouldn't require much more time, in the end.
Time, yes... I'm way past my bedtime and I need to be ready to take my son to visit his class tomorrow morning.