GABRIELS' FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Well the big day is here in spite of my trying to will it to not come !!! It was an extremely difficult morning for Jim and I. Actually it has been a very difficult many months but as always God has placed people in my life to help me through it. First of course is this amazing person that I am blessed to be married to. Everyone who knows me knows how protective I am of my children and how I stress over keeping them safe. My husband was my rock and kept me strong with his constant encouragement and positive attitude. Gabriel was absolutely blessed with this truly amazing father and I with an amazing husband and best friend. Of course there are my amazing friends and family. As I said before God has placed the right people in our lives just when we needed them. My good friend Anne Marie who has helped me so much with support, encouragement and helping with all of my questions and concerns. If only she could give me some of that amazing strength that she possesses. It just so happened that she has been going through the same things since her little guy was two so she has been an awesome resource for us. My oldest and probably dearest friend June, who also has a little guy diagnosed with autism, has been there with support and encouragement. Then there are two new friends who have been awesome with support and encouragement, Stephanie and Fay. They have called regularly to check up on me and just listen. The first time your child goes to school is difficult for most parents but for us it was heart-wrenching. We arrived at school near tears and left in tears !! Thankfully we had people who made it easier. We ran into Stephanie at school who provided me a much needed hug and checked on me throughout the day. My wonderful sister-in-law Robin, who has been there throughout with love and support, checked on us to see how we all were and let us know that she was thinking of us. We also had a special needs teacher call and give us an update that afternoon. She said that she could see the anguish on our faces that morning and just wanted us to know that he was doing fine. We have been trying to protect him from mean and thoughtless people in this world but have been blessed with some of the most loving and kindest people.