Just RK

Today was my test run for a new job I'm technically starting on Monday.  (but I've been working for about 8 days from home and stops by the office.)  Got the girls up extra early,  everyone got dressed,  fed, and out the door with time to spare. Then did the school drop and got to the office to find locked doors due to crossed wires. No problem. I travel with my laptop and had all my account files with me that needed immediate attention. So I hit the nearby St.  Louis Bread Co and here I sit,  chai tea latte and WiFi. Ready-made office.

My girl turned six today. It's beyond weird,  and yet totally normal. Don't ask me how that works. She is so grown up and yet so young still in so many ways. She really wants to be a big girl. Sometimes. It's hard to summarize where this fits into the time line of life. It's six years. In this context,  that's alot. But in the big world scheme of things its just a breath. Hard to fathom what the next breath will hold. Lord,  give me patience and strength,  and wisdom to handle both appropriately.

When things jump out and smack me in the face, I remember that my life is not about me. It’s not about just what makes *me* happy or what *I* want or supposedly deserve.  It’s about my responsibility to this little girl. (And her sister, too, but the truth is that this little girl comprehends and absorbs more of the intangibles in life right now than sis does.)  Her long term benefit is of the utmost importance. What is best for her takes priority over what makes me feel better or what would be perceived as easier.  That’s what parenting is, if you ask me. Today, it’s a good thing she’s such a neat kid. And so darn cute. Makes tough choices just a tad easier.

Today I sat with Braska's teacher to chat about what's up. To touch base about how things are going. Braska is in a private school. Small class of 8 in a gen ed setting. There is some assistance for those who need it here or there but no special ed, per se. She does sometimes get help from a teacher who has time to lend an extra hand. She's been getting pulled out more frequently lately, according to her daily report sheet. I wondered what that was about,  as it was during reading and the phonics,  two of her strong areas. So today I asked. Her teacher simply stated that she was benefitting from the one on one to keep her challenged and on a good pace of progress. She said the other kids just weren't ready yet for the level Braska was at. Come again? That's right.  My daughter,  with Down syndrome, the only child with this type of disability in her school, is being pulled out of her academic Kindergarten class because she is reading at about a grade level above...

When cleaning the basement boxes, sometimes the true gems come to the surface. Thank you, 1993, you were delightful. In a ridiculous kind of way.