School!

Maddison will be entering 5th grade this year and Hannah will be a SOPHMORE!! Last year at this time I was going through some major ”midlife” crisis issues as Hannah entered High school. Somehow having a child in HIGH SCHOOL made me FREAK OUT. (yes, I AM the perfect patient for anti-anxiety meds!) I worried about boyfriends, peer pressure, drugs, new crowds, what would happen with old friends, parties, all kinds of high school stuff. UGH. It was a tough time for me with a lot of life realizations being made. I cant help but wonder already what will happen with Maddison at that age? High school is hard enough without Diabetes, I get nauseated just thinking about this!
–Sigh-

Luckily my Hannah didn’t go wild like I did (a little) when starting high school. She stuck to pretty much the same AMAZING group of girls that she grew up with, all of which also ended up playing for the school Volleyball team. Hannah made the JV team, and WOW OH WOW did her confidence and pride for her school SHINE! But, sadly (with some excitement) Hannah will be going to a NEW high school this year!! Hannah is excited because their VBall team is AMAZING and the JV coach is a long time family friend. (Hannah also has several friends there already) So this is something Hannah looks forward to. And guess what else? This is the same High School I went to!! How weird is that to have your kid graduate from the same high school!!?? Our plan when our lease is up (October during school!) is to move closer to work, and closer to family.....so, both kids will be starting new schools this year on a variance until we find our new home! Yiiikkkkeeesssss!!!!

Maddison is without a doubt, the main part of this moving decision for us. Educationally she isn’t where she needs to be in some areas, even with her IEP. It took 4 years for me to get the damn school to identify that her struggles were related to a learning disability, NOT her Diabetes and NOT an “emotional disorder”! Educational screening always came back that Maddison was achieving, exceeding (or “borderline”) in some areas. However, this screening never took into consideration that Maddi repeated 1st grade (based on parent choice) and was still struggling to “meet” expectations in some areas by 4th grade. Maddies “test scores” year after year (and her IQ) always showed above average, yet her class work and grades suffered. HELLO! She wasn’t meeting her class expectations because she needed additional instruction and was lost in a class of 35 kids! Test scores aren't everything!!! Anyway, that’s all another story, and a VERY long, boring and frustrating blog post for another day!!

The point is, Maddison was dx’d with Diabetes in first grade, so the school always blamed her struggles on missed class time for D care and “her personal struggle with Chronic illness.” UGH. So TOTALLY NOT my child! She was NOT the same person at home as she was at school!!! FINALLY this past school year Maddi’s LD was officially diagnosed, and at this point I just want to start over!! And, so does she. So now we are, even if that means leaving behind the greatest school Nurse EVER! It breaks my heart to take Maddison away from her school nurse who has helped us kick “D’s” butt since 2006, but Maddison is so much older now and able to safely take on more daily D care without constant supervision, so I know now is the time for CHANGE! Such a bittersweet reality! 2 new schools in a new District this year! I'm starting to feel the stress of preparing for back to school with "D"!!!!!