We were not organized when the movers hit our house - NOT READY! Adam & I were in Birmingham the weekend before the move - and when we were at the house, we were focused on Christmas (prep), Charlotte's birthday party at Monkey Joe's and getting the house in Columbus ready for the tenants. Day-before Adam dumped me at the doctor, which I guess was good because the doc said if I'd waited my 'nothing but a cough' would have turned into pneumonia...and moving with pneumonia certainly would have sucked worse than moving with bronchitis.
I was just trying to pack our BAGS to get us through the move out vs. in when the movers asked me about our storage closet, they reaffirmed that everything in it was going to the apartment, just like my husband said?
WHAT?!?! That's 200 sq ft of STORAGE. Are you loco?! Storage Unit!
Which was correct...except for those handful of useful items...like a purse & coat...
If there is anything my psyche can't handle is clutter, especially clutter in a small place.
And in the cold rain, when dead-dog tired EXHAUSTED I finally followed Adam into our new apartment where the movers had unloaded (boxes/furniture) I had my first full-blown panic attack in 8 years.
Adam yelled 'are you kidding me?!' - which helped and I cried as quietly as I could for 45 minutes.
I tried to figure it out on the drive over to mom & dad's (22 miles).
It was Charlotte's birthday. They found her a local friend and invited her over for the pizza & cake party, Gigi came with Amber & Violet. We had a lot of fun. I started to feel better.
We tried to forget everything and just enjoy Christmas. The girls were happy, which helped.
As the clutter dissipated, my brain started firing a bit more rationally and I remembered why we were doing all of this. I reminded myself why we left our beautiful home, stored our nice furniture and nice things and coats: to live light. To live simply. To be a family. To let it all go, and just be.
Charlotte was four and was suffering from anxiety. Adam's hair is falling out. I've been in therapy. Ruby still wears pull-ups. We had a lot of things on the park but what did we really have to show for it? But it's not how you feel it's what you have, right?
Wait. No, it's not.
So, here we go.
Charlotte started state-funded GA Pre-K. 7:45a-2:30p everyday. 22 kids.
LOVES it. She came home the first day and told me she had 6 best friends. When Ruby & I pulled up to pick her up, I could see her through the front windows, sitting in a circle of little girls, playing dollies - not off by herself. Charlotte was happy.
Ruby does not want to go to "school", so okay, we'll stay together all day, every day, probably our last year to do this and life is lighter now...so we're going to enjoy it. I am going to learn to shop and have fun with an almost 2 1/2 year old.
I know once we left Columbus and were completly "looped in" to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta we'd see an improvement in their medical care. I knew the Fayette County school system was great, but I have been blown away but how quickly and aggressively they have already started working to get Charlotte "caught" up. It helps that she's a kid that you fall in love with right away and her not-so-subtle "brightness" has a way of overwhelming the interaction.
When she met with her new SLP (speech language pathologist) to the most-amazing elementary school she'll be starting next year. Charly was dressed up like a cowgirl complete with a stick horse. Charlotte bulldozed into the room and found plenty to do. SLP told her she could draw with the dry erase marker in the brown square (only) - we were in the faculty conference room and there was a large, coded chart on the board. Ruby crept into Charlotte's "space", so she went to the other side of the board and drew her own brown square, then insisted on being explained to why that wasn't okay, when it was spotted. Not defiant, just curious.
When the SLP was ready for them to talk and introduce, she called Charlotte over. Charlotte wanted to know, from across the room, why it was time now to be introduced because she was in the middle of a puzzle right now and she's rather not stop until she was finished, so could we do it later?
No.
Okay. Charlotte immediately walks right into the teacher's arms, not quite a sweet, I'm going to love on you - she just immediately wanted a close-up of the lady's accessories. Which, okay, we're doing this this way, I could see it on the SLP's face. Charly zeroed in on her necklace, then the pendants and we're talking about the jewels, colors and what they felt like...no, none of them are purple - that one's too red and that one is a little too blue to be purple really...and "the earrings aren't as interesting as the necklace" and then, "I like your hair alright" amongst a dozen other seemingly random comments and, no, Charlotte was not dressed up like a cowgirl, she said, but a rodeo star, she'd win the stick horse race today at school too if she hadn't gotten that shot yesterday at the doctor in her leg but then she got to play on a cool playground AND go swimming inside with Noni and Hoppy.
The SLP said, "well, she's obviously very bright" Has she had an IQ test? She asked. Yep, she's a genius. I didn't tell her that...I'll let her be surprised by it when she reads the psych report. But apparently that's going to make this more difficult? If she was delayed cognitively she could get a whole slew of help (through the school), and because she's such a smarty Charlotte will be more frustrated by her disorder. The SLP was also taken back, again, by the severity of it, how fast she talks and how extensive her vocabulary, which makes it all that much more overwhelming, I guess.
We have got some incredible resources here. Not only do we have this amazing school system, but we have CHOA Rehabilitation right down the road.
Our family made this move to get back to where we need to be. I had no idea how much I missed Atlanta until we came home.
I am in love with Peachtree City, it's just lovely, seriously, everything is pretty. We have got to get a golf cart...
1 comments:
I love what you wrote - can feel your enthusiasm and excitement and yes, Char is exactly where she needs to be, and Ruby, too. Can't believe how quickly you and Adam got it all set up and it's nice - I love it.
Noni
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