It's a lot better

Last week I met with the special education staff at the public school where Ehren and Christian go for speech therapy and social skills two hours a week. We planned for their upcoming three-year evaluation.  I didn't know this before, but children receiving special education services have to be evaluated every three years to determine if they are still eligible for services and if so, what services will they receive. 

This means we are approaching the three-year anniversary of the date we were told they were on the spectrum.  A lot has changed in three years.  If I could graph my emotions over that time period, they would look something like this:

If I could graph my view of Ehren and Christian's progress over the last three years, it would look something like this:

Even though this three-year evaluation has not even formally begun yet, I can tell you they will still be eligible for services.  But more importantly, I can also tell you that I did not feel bad {read dread} when I left this meeting, like I have in some times past.  It's not like I still can't feel bad {I can}, but right now, I'm so thankful for what Ehren and Christian are doing, and not so dread-filled about what they aren't doing.  It's a gift I hope I can savor for awhile.