Back to school

Gray started back to school yesterday with Hope by his side.  Kati went with him as she will through Wednesday to train his teachers and therapists there.  I really hope that they will see a difference and appreciate the new learning opportunities that Hope will give Gray.

It’s funny…When I was in Portland doing my initial training, I felt consumed with Hope and her needs and my relationship with her.  I remember, at one point, Kati asked me a question about Gray’s preferences and I said, “Gray who?  I don’t know who that is!” I felt so entrenched in my Rhoni/Hope thoughts in Portland that it made me feel distant and out-of-touch with my family.  Now that I am back at home, I find myself only focused on my children and thinking, “Hope who?”  I think it is a little like when we had Bella (our pug) for the years before we had children.  I loved her and focused on her and swore that she would never take a back seat to babies.  Of course, as soon as the babies came along, Bella was a second-class citizen.  Only, here, I can’t let that happen with Hope.  I must find a way to feel equally protective of her well-being and that of my kids.  She is performing a critical job for us and I must repay her with attention to her well-being: both physical and mental.  It’s like a fourth child has become part of our home.

My head might explode.