First Day

First day completed. Kids attended school for 45mins. No one really knows what the point of that is. Everything was a bit chaotic, as the first week usually is. River was up at 5:30, anxious about the day ahead and whispering to himself in bed. Something he does to help to calm and reassure himself. I took them to school and was glad to see River's aide from last year. She'll be with him for the week, but we don't know what will happen after that. It is very difficult to prepare River when we are given no information. As well, we do not get a say in the person who will work with our son day in and day out. This is incredibly frustrating and is not, it seems to me, in the best interests of the child. It is not even mandatory for this person to have experience with children with autism! I prepare myself for another round of trips back and forth to the school. Oh well, only 10 more years of this to go! Bronwyn strode in in her new outfit like a professional. "Majestic" as the new word seems to be. "Awesome" is, like, totally out.

Mike spent the rest of the day with the kids and they busied themselves torturing him with their constant bickering and unreasonable demands. He looked a bit frazzled when I got  home. I'm wondering if we'll ever be able to get a babysitter!

This week work is a matter of sorting the classroom and getting it ready for the kids to arrive next week. I have a great teaching partner, Jess, and I'm looking forward to getting started. The other teachers are very young, I am the only one with children. Makes me feel very old some days...but then again, keeps me young when I listen to their conversations. Young people seem to assume that when you are a mother, you must want to talk about your children and so, with me, the conversation is directed towards them. Questions asked, followed by a glazed, blank expression when I start waffling about them. It is not easy to be interested in other people's children - particularly if you don't have any yourself (and it's not even on your radar). Of course, I don't really want to talk about them much, I'm just answering polite enquiry...but what can you do? I have been taking my knitting so that I can knit during the lunch break at the same time as hold a conversation and participate in a kind 'team-building' exercise. A couple of people want to learn to knit...yay! So it looks like I'm going to start a Friday lunch knitting club!

Day 2 of school today - the full day. Fingers-crossed that there are no melt-downs and phone-calls to me. When things get a bit settled I will write a letter that details strategies we use with River. Perhaps we can prevent the disruptive behaviours that River has indulged in every September for the past couple of years. Of course, it would entail the school listening to me and taking my advice - no guarantee of that.