March 30: A Dream Come True

It’s not every day that I can make a person’s dream come true, but I was able to do just that.  After many long days at work, as Carl drifted off to sleep one night he thought he was surrounded by fancy cheese plates with gorgeous strawberries. He forced himself to open his eyes because it seemed so strange, and unfortunately the plates weren’t actually there. The next day he was working from home so he could be there when Sarah got home from school. I was making a lunch for him before heading out. I made a spread for him including fresh strawberries, avocado, blueberries, carrots, red pepper, brie, cheddar, fig jam, pepperoni, tabouli, and a homemade blueberry chocolate chip muffin. At the moment of recognition of what I had done we had a huge laugh.

For months I have written intermittently about Amy preparing to apply and audition for the Creative And Performing Arts school (CAPA). She worked hard on her portfolio, she did her best at the audition, and she did not get in. We knew it was very competitive and that there were many applicants but few spots. It was still heartbreaking to get the news. But, as I have learned many times, sometimes when I don’t get whatever I desperately thought I wanted, I then get something that is better.

A friend mentioned a different high school that is private and tiny, with a class size of 15! We went for a tour and liked it enough that Amy shadowed for a day. She loved that experience, saying she had forgotten what it was like to think she would look forward to the next day of school. Within a few days her application was submitted, and a few days later we learned that she was accepted. We are all thrilled.

As of Thursday afternoon, Sarah has hearing aids. We have to slowly work up to her wearing them often because it can be a lot of new things for her brain to process. We will start getting her acclimated soon, but haven’t really done so yet because on Friday she went to a weekend retreat at the place where she will go to summer camp. We didn’t want to add any complications to that experience.

Amy’s back brace broke in a way that was actually ok and not essential to the fit of the brace. But the break left a bit of metal flapping around and it was easy for her arm to get scraped. I picked her up from school on Friday and we headed to Delaware to see my brother and Grammy and Granddad. This seemed like a great opportunity to tackle fixing the brace. I spoke with the orthotist many times and he suggested how to remove the metal piece. I tried to no avail but my brother saved the day. He persevered with vise grips and removed the two scratchy pieces of metal! This was hugely helpful because Amy is in her school talent show soon and wants to wear the brace for doing gymnastics for the show. We didn’t want to mail the brace away to get repaired because it might not get back in time, nor did we want her doing gymnastics with a stray bit of metal.

Last night, Amy and I switched houses to spend time with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, and I did a book event a Main Point Books in Wayne, PA. I was in conversation with Nancy Schwartz who has written multiple books about her son: Up, Not Down Syndrome and Up Bow, Down Bow. I loved was realizing how much we had in common despite our kids having different diagnoses. We share the same optimism that just because our child doesn’t do something yet, it doesn’t necessarily mean they never will.

It was wonderful seeing one of my favorite high school English teachers, a school classmate, and other school connections from many years ago. One of my past sitters for Sarah and Amy was there, as well as a handful of family members, and another author being published by She Writes Press! Kathleen Somers, author of Barely Visible, is having her book launch this Thursday at Main Point Books. We had seen each other over zoom because She Writes Press connects authors being published in the same season. Having never met in person, it still somehow felt like seeing an old friend, and we rushed into a hug. Doing these book events and seeing my book on a shelf in a bookstore is another dream come true, and is perhaps just as surreal as suddenly thinking you are surrounded by cheese plates.

I will leave you with Sarah’s question, “what color is Circle With A Line Through Its shirt?” In case that is difficult to understand, the name she gave herself in that moment was “Circle With A Line Through It.”  I love how fluid her imagination is. Anything can be anything; anything can be a name. And the answer to her question: blue.