Amelia: Living in the "main...stream"

I am finally writing about Amelia's mainstream experience! She graduated from Atlanta Speech School last May. In August, she started at Hillside Preschool. I picked Hillside because it resembled Atlanta Speech School the most. Amelia goes to connection classes: Music, Spanish, Science, & bible study. They also put her into the transitional T-5 class since she was doing so well with her reading etc. Although she was use to a small class size, she seems to be handling the larger class well. We had an IEP meeting for Amelia with her local school system for next year. It got heated. It's crazy how the system is set for failure. Since she has been exceling, they felt she did not qualify. Excuse me, she is Hard of Hearing! We had an easier time getting Colin under an IEP. He has less hearing loss than Amelia, but since he was behind in speech he got accepted with no hesitations. In the end we got Amelia an IEP (Individualized Education Plan),which will help her next year get preferential seating, FM system, etc. We were pleasantly surprised when they offered us voice therapy sessions and even provided an FM system for her current preschool teacher to use! I am going to post a lot of pictures from her school year so far, but first I wanted to talk about some harder issues.

For those of you not clear on the language, "mainstreaming" is the term parents of special needs kids use when describing a child going into a "normal" "traditional" classroom setting. I started reflecting the other day on these terms. I think it is normal for us to want to live in what I cleverly am calling the "main...stream." Ironically, people always connect youth with rebellion yet most young people want to fit in the mainstream. As I have gotten older, I have become more comfortable in swimming up side streams so to speak. As many of you know, I have been having some health issues since January 1st. I literally woke up that day and my health had changed. I go to the neurologist next week..finally!! I feel like the cause of my weird symptom of body numbness has been narrowed down by my primary doctor as neurological. When I diagnosis myself on WebMD..of course...words like pinched nerve, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors pop up. I do find it fascinating that we just went through neurological stuff with Amelia last month. Peter says that Amelia & I are twins. So this whole topic of "living in the main...stream" has been in my thoughts. I started thinking about being remembered vs. being memorable. I want to be memorable. Peter and I have had the conversation recently that if I were to die my kids would be too young to fully remember me. That fact breaks my heart and gives me the strength to fight or fix whatever is wrong. I don't want to be living in the main...stream. I want to be different! Most days I do feel like I am unique, sometimes understood and sometimes not. I saw a shirt yesterday at the store and it said, "Heroes get remembered. Legends never die." Exactly! This post might not seem so, but I feel like I am a positive person. Even while not feeling my best, I continue to host parties and try to be "Social Scarlett". I have felt friends & family become more concerned about what is going on with me. I have started saying that I am ready to find out from the neurologist what he thinks. I can't undo what has already happened to my body. At church on Sunday, I heard a song for the very first time. It was called "Oceans, where feet may fail" by Hillsong United. The words were touching. They beautifully fit in with my theme in this post on water imagery. Below are a few lyrical lines:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
I love the words, because they transcend! They remind me of God, my husband, my family & friends. It's easier to write than to talk about. So as I write about Amelia's positive experience living in the "main...stream" I, however, am diverging into a place less traveled where I hope to be memorable..even better.legendary! smile. Come what may...let it come. -Scarlett