Last day of school

I find myself reminiscing so much today. It's really hard for me to believe it's Tyler's last day of Jack and Jill and the last day of his first year of his school career. I went back to all those tumultuous feelings I had in September. I was excited, jittery, joyful, hopeful, and definitely nervous. It was hard for me to come to terms with the extraordinary progress we made with Ty's food allergies and that we were able to even consider sending him to school where a snack is involved. And from the very beginning, all the teachers at school made us feel so welcome. They encouraged me and supported Tyler with a willingness I'll never forget. Those first few times I dropped him off, I'd walk around the house with the telephone in my pocket worrying that something was going to happen. Slowly but surely the weeks passed and the phone calls weren't coming. I started finding myself relaxing and taking deep breaths. Maybe this school thing really is possible!?! Tyler was fortunately oblivious to my worry and would pop up from his crib on his school days with such enthusiasm and excitement. We'd always have to read "what I'm going to learn today" from the little calendar so he'd get even more excited. The days turned into weeks which turned into months which turned into today, the last day of school. When I think of all the progress he's (and I) made throughout this year, I swell with pride. He's learned to write his name. He's learned to be much more independent of me. He can recognize all this upper and lower case letters and start recognizing some simple words. He's much more social with students his own age. He understands basic school behavior like waiting in a line, raising his hand to answer a question, and respecting the teacher. Most importantly, this year has given both Tyler and I a new level of confidence that, in spite of his disability, his opportunities are limitless. Jack and Jill and his teachers, Mrs. Fessler and Mrs. Krall, have played such a vital role in the positive development of Tyler's third year of life. I owe everyone a great deal gratitude and am already looking forward to the fun he's going to have as a preschooler attending the 3-day program. And Ty can't wait for summer camp!