A Little Summer Goes a Long Way

Summer has been great. I love not working and having time to be with Miles, having some time to myself and paying attention to the smaller things.

Miles started his Early Start program here in Santa Clara County. We were given the choice of the auditory/oral class, where they only speak to the children, and the total communication class, where they speak and sign. I guess I knew this was a controversial issue but I had no idea just how loaded it was. When I visited the two classes in the spring, I chose the oral class because the children in the class had the strongest oral skills and I wanted Miles to have those good models. But once we had been there for a week or two, the teacher told me that, come fall, I wouldn't be able to sign to Miles while in the class. Not that she has any problem with it, but she explained there were major legal battles over the issue. She then suggested that I check out the TC class.

As was the case in the spring, the children there had little in the way of oral skills. But, I was reminded, there will be many changes in clientele in the fall and things may change radically. So it came down to my own philosophy of what I believe is best for Miles. I chose the signing class. I'm sure I will hear from many of the HOH community, but I chose based on what we do at home including what I know as an educator- children learn best when they are presented with multiple modalities for learning. Also, he will only be at school for six hours a week so he will have plenty of time with strong oral models at all the other hours of his week, especially with his parents.

Will all choices of his education be so fraught?

Meanwhile, we spent the summer perfecting the "staycation" concept. Miles has become completely obsessed with trains so last Saturday we biked down to the local train station, took the train a few stops, biked to some local parks, took the train home again and biked back. He was totally amazed that you could actually go inside the train.

The grandparents came to visit for a week plus a few days after a trip to Oregon. It was really nice for Miles to spend more time with them as we are so far away. Plus, it meant that Jeff and I were able to go on a few date nights. Always good for the marriage. We spent plenty of time in the complex's pool and got some cute video and photos.

Early in the summer, my husband totaled his bicycle, luckily without any damage to himself. It then necessitated him purchasing a new bicycle. He was so tickeld with it that we then bought one for me. Since then, we have had all sorts of family bicycle outings and I have taken my bike out for a few long rides all by myself. It's nice to have a new physical outlet that challenges me and gets me outdoors.

Back to school soon- I'm trying to pack in as much as possible in the short time left.

After all the sadness of this past year, it can be hard to feel grateful. I recently heard a segment on NPR about a man who went from praying for things, to praying to get out of jams and finally, after a bad motorcycle accident, went to a prayer that goes like this: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for this life."
I am tapping into the gratitude for fresh food from the farmers' market, trips out with my family, the sunshine that warms the tomato plants, the crisp green leaves against the crisp blue sky. It fills my heart and keeps me from despair.