Tuesday, June 2, 2015

It has taken a village...

As my son prepares to graduate from high school, my husband and I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the group of people who have helped us get S to this point.  We have most certainly not gotten him here on our own.  We refer to this group of people as Team S.


How do we go about recognizing all of these people who have helped S and our family get him to this point of graduation and preparing to start college?


We made a list.  This list includes people from Alabama, one person from California (not such good experiences there or as my mom, a retired teacher, says "they weren't very nice to him there"), Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  (There is a HUGE list of people from Minnesota, but they all received invitations to the party.)


It was quite humbling to see this list of people who have made a difference in our son's life. They have encouraged him, given him the support he needs, and pushed him to be the best he can be.


Our list includes principals, a Special Education director, teachers, assistants, Assistive Technology personnel, Physical Therapists, Speech Therapists, staff at his therapy clinic, horse handlers, volunteers at his riding facility, instructors at his riding facility, pastors, Sunday School teachers, his Pediatrician, his Ophthalmologist, the person who does all of his paperwork for equipment, his equipment rep, his chiropractor, his massage therapist, and friends.  


Some of the people we have stayed in touch with throughout the years.  Others we haven't. We had to do some searching to get addresses.  We sent the announcement with a thank you from S printed on the back.  


We have heard back from so many people.  

One person wrote, "It means so much to me but I want to point out that it's you who has done all of the heavy lifting."

Another person wrote, "THANK YOU with all my heart....please know that I learned so much with you and from you in our time together. You were a milestone in my professional world....I took the lessons we learned together and helped other students with your ideas."

His first grade teacher posted it on facebook, and it was so fun to read the comments from staff members who remember him.  


What we have learned through the years is that as much as people touch our lives and S's life, he touches their lives.


I am writing this post as I sit at the community college's Office of Student Success waiting for my son to finish his college placement tests.  I can't help but appreciate the name of this office whose staff will be such an important part of my son's college life. We are continuing to add to Team S

I will be on the couch with chocolate thanking God for blessing us with all of these amazing people who make up Team S.  

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