Pissed Off Post.

I've done really well, refraining from falling in to a "poor me" mentality.  At least, I think I have?

 

But the end of last week...  I was certainly veering in that direction.

 

I had wanted to sign Reagan up to do summer school with our school district. But the teacher in charge, Mrs. Arnold,  made it abundantly clear that she did not want a "special needs" child in her class.

My next option was to have Reagan do the Social Skills class at the Children's Center.

Nick and I took Reagan in for a play screening, so that they could assess her skill level, and place her in a group with kids that were in a similar place on the Autism Spectrum, as she is.

At that appointment I was given a form that listed all of the times that the groups were going on, and I could select a "preferred" time.

There was one time that would work.

 

These social skills class require that a parent accompany the child.  Your kid goes and plays, and the parents observe, and meet in support groups.

It's not something that I'd be able to have a neighbor drop Reagan off for.

 

So, the ONE time that worked, was on Wednesday mornings.

I figured that Nick could take Reagan on the weeks when I wasn't feeling well, because he wouldn't have to go to work until later that afternoon.

And, hopefully, I could take Reagan on my "good" weeks.

 

I put an asterisk next to my preferred time, and wrote a little explanation, about why this time would be best.

 

Imagine my surprise, when I received an email stating that they couldn't accommodate my request!  Reagan had been put in an afternoon time slot that just wouldn't work.

Apparently, they have so many working parents, that have schedules that need to be worked around; that they just couldn't honor my preference.

 

I was steaming mad.

My knee-jerk reaction was to flip them the bird, and move on.

But Nick said we needed to think about it, and take Reagan's needs to in to consideration.

I gave it a lot of thought.

The clincher came in the form of an email.  The Children's Center sent out an run-down of the activities that the kids would be engaging in, during the class.

At the Children's Center, there's a playground that is fenced in.  Every time we go, Reagan begs to be able to play on the playground.

In my head, I thought that if she did the Social Skills class, she'd FINALLY be able to play on that playground.

But, not so.

The email I received said that the Social Skills class would play outside on the grass, but they would not, EVER, be able to play on the playground.

Done deal.

I'm not sending Reagan.

 

It still sucks, though.

First of all, what can any other parent have, that "trumps" my situation???  Seriously, I feel like they were more worried about accommodating working-parents' schedules, than they were about helping out a Mom that's having Chemo!

I just can't imagine anyone having more "heavy" stuff, than me.  And if I'm wrong?  God Bless that poor soul.  But truly, why not give me the time I requested?!

Secondly, I am now without a consistent activity for Reagan to engage in over the summer. Bum-mer!  Yes.  She's doing swimming lessons.  And in July she'll has a Lego Camp.  But I REALLY wanted her to be able to do the Social Skills class.  Sigh.

 

Here's a picture of Reagan on her last day of school.

What a cutie.


The same day that the Children's Center email hit my inbox, Nick also got word that his Walgreen's store was going to be changing its hours.
This puts the possibility of Nick working Sunday's back on the table.  AND, it's highly likely that Nick will have to work a few 12 hours shifts each week.

SO NOT the news I need right now.
It's like I'm being pushed to the edge!
Seriously, this was the stressful straw that broke the camel's back.  I was (and still am) really upset about this.

Walgreen's approached Nick about moving to the store he is currently at, over a 18 months ago.  Switching stores meant a pay-cut.  Nick's negotiated, and to make up for the fact that he'd be bringing in less money, they agreed to give him Sunday's off.

If you ask me, the whole situation is a load of baloney!

However, I'm not going to take to shaming Walgreen's, just yet... 
Nick's scheduler @ work, said that she would try to work something out for him.

Finger's crossed that it works out to Nick's advantage.