for now, peace

sorry to leave you all hanging after the last post. and thanks for your comments of support! it sure does help to know people think you are doing the right thing instead of thinking you're just crazy. (at least it matters to me, because as i've mentioned here before i sort of get obsessed with what other people think about me at times! still working through those insecurities, i guess...)

anyway, everything was wonderfully resolved at the school. aedan has a classroom and a teacher, and we saw it and met her yesterday. the principal was kind enough to call me at almost 6 pm thursday night and completely diffused the situation...by just showing me some empathy, which apparently the offending woman doesn't know how to do. ok, but as my sister reminds me, i'm leaving that behind now.

and we also visited gillian's school on thursday. WOW. we are totally amazed, and school hasn't even started. the administration bends over backwards to help parents (e.g., my friend's son didn't have the shots he needed, so the school actually called and gave her the names of clinics she could take him to this weekend AND gave her directions AND gave her the hours of operation AND gave her suggestions of when to take him...did i say WOW?).

gillian's teacher reminds us of last year's, which is good because she really really misses her old teacher. the school uses the renzulli method. did i mention it's a public school, completely free? all you have to do is pick it, and then they put your name in a lottery and you get to go if they choose you! back to the renzulli method, though: from what i saw on an initial google search it looks like some sort of gifted program. but the school doesn't test and only let smart kids in (even though you KNOW i would say gillian is exceptionally bright, right? i mean, she's been reading nancy drew books all summer and she's only SIX!). i think it's incredible that a school would take these methods and use them with students who are all over the map intellectually.

needless to say, we can't wait to see what unfolds for her this year. as for aedan, we're just holding our breath, hoping he can sit still enough not to go to the principal's office, not get expelled (just being honest, it has crossed our minds!) until he can attend gillian's school next year. they save spots for siblings of current students. when we took her for orientation we saw that they have an after-school ROBOT CLUB. how cool is that? aedan's obsessed with building things, so i can't imagine how much he would love to build robots and watch them work.

ok, so for now there is peace in our household. while i was doing yoga just a minute ago, it occurred to me that i wish i could have peace in the midst of the struggles instead of feeling pushed along, having my feelings, emotions, thoughts dictated by what is going on around me. i know this is an area i need to work on. because i found myself thinking, "oh, everything is going to be okay. the kids will be in school, we will have two incomes again, my work has slowed down to let me breathe." but then i realized that life is a bit easier (or has at least eased up on us for the moment), so that's why i'm thinking this. but i want to be one of those women who somehow finds peace in the MIDST of the chaos, when everything seems to be falling apart, to be able to say, "NOW i have peace." does that make sense? maybe i'll never get there, but i sure want to be like that, maybe at least when i'm an old lady. ;)

now, if hurricane fay will just stay away from our coastline, maybe we can manage to keep the peace for quite some time!

p.s. my dear friend angie left those flowers (at the top of the post) on my porch for my birthday (which was yesterday). they were a sweet surprise! thanks angie!