Hope is Handy

Sometimes all you need is to get started. Often, that is the hardest part. And of course, hindsight is 20/20. We all know that. We are in the middle of our IEPs (individualized educational plan) and though I was super stressed about all the therapy we have had to schedule, the recent transition to preschool and potty training. The IEP was what I feared most. I studied our local education web sites, parenting web sites and anything I could get my hands on about two years ago. Then I decided I was not going to overeducate myself. I stopped reading everything. A bunch of time passed, during which my daughter developed her sensory and OCD issues more fully (yay), we fought with the regional center for speech and other necessary services. Now the IEP.

 

It was recommended that we create notebooks of info, medical summaries, etc., that would be helpful to the school district team in determining what our kids need. I ditched that idea. After I filled out the forms, surveys and questionnaires for two kids that felt like I was re-taking the SAT, I was wiped out. It took me three days to get through it all. Somehow, I didn’t feel like making a nice, handy little notebook next. What was supposed to be three meetings turned into nine meetings in two months. That’s a lot of calendar-ing, and I got more stressed about that with the therapy/school schedule we have. So what did I do? I joined a fitness boot camp for the month of November. I willingly got up before the kids were awake a few days a week and went to punish my body into health. When all was said and done, I had lost eight pounds and cared less about the meetings. Who knew a little self-focus could go so far?

 

To date we have three meetings remaining, and the school district folks have been amazing, kind, attentive and interested in all facets of our children. Perhaps we have a great school district. Perhaps distracting myself was the key. Perhaps it’s that I don’t have the time to dwell on my children’s issues as I might if I had one instead of three. I see that as a huge benefit to my kids. What I also see is that I MUST have balance. The same way the dinner dishes need to be cleared from the sink to prevent mold from growing. You can't just let it sit there. I need to clear my head and my heart in order to be mentally prepared for what my kids need. That is my first job. That means exercise, health, and most of all hope. I find that hope is more accessible when my head is clear. That’s a pretty handy tool. And I don’t need a notebook for it.

Read more about life with triplets here.