My Village

Raising kids is tough, sure. With Allie it really doesn't seem to difficult. I kind of took for granted the people who help make her a great, easy kid. But it took Boo to make me realize that it was more than just her parents that make Allie the girl she is becoming.
My husband, in-laws (who unlike my mom live in town), friends, Allie's daycare when she was younger and teachers now that she is (gasp!) entering 3rd grade. All of them contributed to making her an awesome, easy child who is fun to be around. And sure, I had something to do with it too!

But I would not be able to keep my sanity without the village that keeps Boo going. Without her village of physical, speech, occupational, feeding therapists Boo would not be walking, talking and eating me out of house and home. Without her village of daycare providers who took her as their first special needs child EVER in the history of their school, Boo would not have had a loving and nurturing place to go while mom & Dad were at work. Without her village of medical professionals Boo would not be alive let alone walking, talking and playing with her sister. Without her village of the special education program thru our local school system, Boo would not have made such terrific gains this summer. She made a friend and knew her teachers names!

Without Boo's family village she would not have blossomed. And I am not limiting that to just Allie! Boo has a great support system of grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins and friends who are sometimes closer than family.

She is an incredibly lucky child.

This week has proven that. My mom came up for a visit, she has made my life so much easier this week. Caring for the girls so that my husband and I could just go to work without worrying about bathing, dressing, feeding, medicating Boo. She took them on adventures, cleaned my bathroom (yes, she is my favorite mom), did the dishes and picked up some groceries. And wine (yup, favorite!).

Last night grandpa arrived. Chaos ensued as Allie had her two favorite people were here (she sees new Barbies in her future) for the long weekend.

So not only should a special needs child come with a village, it should come with a great grandmother who visits every couple of months. It's really not fair otherwise :)