Green...

Yesterday, in a turn of  unusual circumstances, Little Man called. His substitute therapist only makes patient calls on Friday, whereas Mr. M makes these calls on Wednesday. Mr. M has been on vacation for two weeks now.

We spent a few minutes chatting, and then - out of the middle of nowhere, Little Man says "Guess what, Dad"? Now, we know that this could be a loaded question... but there was an excitement in his voice - this was something real...

"What LM"? Dad asked... waiting for the other shoe to drop...

"I got GREEN!!!"

"What?" I saw the look of surprise on the hubs face, it was priceless... Stunned he was!

"I got G.R.E.E.N.! Which means if you come to see me, I can leave campus.... AND I get three phone calls a week now, instead of just two!"

Yes, folks - the elusive Green level has been achieved. We cannot be prouder. We also know some cold  hard facts, that we have to take into consideration:

• Little Man made Green yesterday - Green can be lost at a moments notice, while this achievement is a milestone we must stay focused on the overall goal; therefore we will reserve our par-tay for when he hangs onto it for a week.


• Little Man achieved Green during the week he has not had a roommate. His former roomie went on dispo this week - so he was alone in his room. Nobody there to pick at, nobody there to fight with... no points losing distractions. It's good to know that when he doesn't have someone right there he does so well though. This would work perfectly if he were an only child. However, he has two siblings who have great big bulls-eyes painted on their heads. When he has a target to mess with and fuss at - he takes it.


• Little Man achieved Green while he had a substitute therapist. While I am not doubting this therapists abilities, any parent of a special-needs child knows what my son is doing... he's honeymooning. This is when someone puts on their "honeymoon" or very best behavior for someone who does not know them, typically a therapist, doctor, nurse or entire medical staff (don't laugh - Little Man had done this at TWO stabilization stays). Typically the honeymooner (the patient) can only continue this behavior for so long, and then the act fails and the everyday behavior surfaces. Again - I think we'll reserve the par-tay for when Mr. M returns, and Little Man continues to maintain his green level.

All in all, we are optimistic, this is the first time since his hospitalization in January that we've had a super report for him. Something that definitively says he's making progress. We cannot be more thankful for that, it lets us know that he's trying. And that is all we've ever wanted him to do.

It's Saturday!

I don't know what I'm blowing my horn about - I really don't care particularly what day it is...

That's one of the benefits of being a SAHM - I don't have to really keep track of these long, lazy summer days. You know, I'd like to say that we spend our summers with days filled with fun, games, and family time. We get a lot of family time, and we do have fun - but we limit our gaming to the computers or Xbox.

I'm not kidding ;)

All in all it's been a pretty good summer. But now that it is coming to a close, and the kids have to go back to school in two weeks, we are faced with a conundrum. We do not want to  will not send Our Girl back to school here. Our Guy isn't an issue, he'll bloom where he's planted. Things won't be the hell for him they will be for her.

You see, she and her boyfriend got in a little trouble at the technical school near the end of the year. *Our high school partners with the local college to offer preparatory classes for the special needs students.* Lets just say it was behavior unfit for school. They got caught by another student. It made it back to school before she did. She was sent to "Alternative school" for the last month of school. She's supposed to spend a month there, and then transition back to her normal routine afterward.

That's our dilemma, the kids here, especially the girls, have been horribly cruel to Our Girl. They started this when she was in the fifth grade. It has been persistent and continuous. She has been bullied, threatened, and falsely accused. And punished for it. When we put the house on the market, we thought that she was going to get to start her Junior year at a new school, away from all these awful kids. Now it looks pretty bleak.

I think she's going to start her Junior year as a home-schooler... and we'll see what happens. It's not like we can't handle it. I did this once before, and actually got her jumped a grade! I have resources and support, and I know what she needs to know to graduate here - which changes when we move... but its enough to get us going. Biggest benefit: she won't have to learn math the way they teach it here... Our schools were included in a five year pilot program for a new way of teaching math skills in high-school. So far as we've seen... it sucks. I can teach math the good old fashioned way!

Wish me luck! I've got a lot of planning to do.

Follow Friday 40 and Over

Today I'm linking up with the lovely lady over at Never Growing Old for the Over 40 Friday Follow.

If you are a blogger, and you have passed that 40 mark - join up!

Just hop over there and add your name to the linky, grab a button, and post!

Happy Friday!!!