I expect David to be in daycare all week; so far he is doing really well. Simon is really excited that David is attending Sy's alma mater - every day he asks what David did that day. After his first day, Simon asked me if there is anyone else in David's class who has Down syndrome. I said no, I don't think so, and he was pleased with himself saying, "And that was a good question!" (I've chided him during story time to ask questions if he has them, but to try to keep extraneous comments to a minimum). I agreed it was a good one, and asked him why he asked, and he seemed to struggle with an answer. He finally said, "I just wanted to know," and I acknowledged that as perfectly legitimate. Last Monday I went down to Sylva to meet with future providers from the school system, once David reaches age 3 and no longer receives Early Intervention. I was trying to explain this to Simon a few days later, and he became so upset, thinking I meant that when I said "the people who work with David," I was also talking about daycare, that David would have to change daycares so soon after starting. Once I finally understood that was what he was upset about, we got it worked out, but it was really cute how worried he was that David would have to make a change. Good big brother ...
David is doing quite well in daycare, settling into the routine and making friends (to the extent any kids that age really make friends). There is a little girl in his class; she appears to be about 2, who is especially affectionate toward him. His teachers report his appetite really varies and I've let them know that's just going to happen with him - some days he'll eat any- and everything you put in front of him, other days he's much pickier. He's doing well settling down for naps after lunch, and overall endearing himself to anyone who comes in the building. Here at home, learning by imitation continues; nearly every day we see him doing something he hasn't before. He has come to understand that when he gets home, it's time to take off his coat and shoes, and put the shoes in the basket. We're working on hanging up his coat, and he recently began pulling out pairs of shoes from the basket, when it is time to get ready to go. He (sort of) blows and wipes his nose with a tissue (he does puff out some air, so he gets the drift), he can also wipe his mouth with a napkin, ball it up, and throw it away. At night when it's toothbrushing time, David stands up on his chair to look in the mirror, moves the brush around in his mouth, leans forward as if to spit, and then taps the brush on the edge of the sink.
Big Announcement: Matt and I have known this for some time, but yesterday we could make it official. Our little town has been a wonderful place for us and the boys; the church has been supportive of Matt's growth as a minister, and of us as a family. But we have also experienced a great deal of stress and grief here, and we have discerned that it is best for our family and this church for us to seek a new appointment, at another church. We hope to relocate to a either a larger city or right outside one, where there will be a larger job market for me and more resources and choices for David. Simon received this news about as well as could be expected - Matt and I have joked maybe we can leave him here to work in the Chamber of Commerce, he's so determined that this is "a perfect town" and his school is "the perfect school." And he's right - this is the only home he knows, everyone loves him, and it's going to be really hard for him to leave. He has not cried, exactly, that we're aware of, though during the initial conversation his eyes were really red and I did see one tear from each eye. We've not brought it up a lot since the initial talk; since we don't yet know exactly where we're going we don't want to raise lots of questions we can't yet answer. It will be in the western half of North Carolina, which includes Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem and Charlotte; our hope is to be near one of these areas. This would not only provide a wider range of choices in services for David (currently, for example, if his speech therapist is on leave, she's the only one, and they have to send someone from another county to cover), but also we hope to be a part of a larger community of parents of children with special needs. I've posted before about activities through the WNC Family Support Network and they've been great, but we have to drive over an hour each way to attend anything. Matt and I are excited, and it feels a bit more real since the announcement yesterday, but I'm sure it'll be hard when the day is actually coming near. We know it'll be hard for Simon but I think we'll handle it as well as we can; we'll try to keep routines in place for him and David as much as possible. And we're confident the new appointment will work to the glory of God. We pray for our church as it goes forward and as they determine the best way to carry forward.
To end on a slightly lighter note, we took Simon to this Coffee House restaurant in Morganton to talk to him alone, leaving David with grandparents. We'd never been there before, and asked his folks first to make sure they did have dessert so we could get Simon something sweet. They confirmed this, then Matt's mom said, "They do not have gourmet coffee," and I said, that's fine. And they in fact did not have gourmet coffee, they had the *$&^iest cup of coffee I have ever had in my life. And let me say, this is a somewhat informed opinion, I have had coffee from break rooms and gas stations, rest stops and government buildings and sports arenas, and my Aunt Judy's house :) And this was The Worst. It tasted as if the previous customer had stubbed out a cigarette in it, and the waitress just dumped the butt and poured in more coffee, without washing it. Though Matt said his was exactly as bad, so maybe it was just terrible. Eek. And yes, it was so bad I took a photo.
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