Yes, I'm back. I was so touched by the emails I received when I decided to suspend the blog and then today I discovered the blog was listed by the The Lesbian and Gay Foundation in the UK as one of the 100 best LGBT blogs out on the Web. And so I thought...well, maybe I should return to write. Besides, the bottom line is I am a writer at heart and my fingers were aching to write many times in the past three weeks!
Now that "I'm back" what's up?, you may ask. Well, a lot. The biggest thing to happen is that Juli got accepted into one of the best private schools in the city for kids with learning disabilities. It involved a very detailed application, an interview with me, and two interviews with Juli. The school targets bright kids like Juli with an artistic bent, who also need special attention when it comes to learning. All that said, nothing is guaranteed. We still need to meet with the special ed committee to discuss the next step for her. If I don't, and just go off on my own, I have to come up with the $39,000 myself. Yes, it costs that much. I would love for her to continue going to her neighborhood public school. She loves it, has so many friends, she and Seth have their special together time every morning when he takes her to school, she has had an amazing classroom teacher this year. However, all that said, her scores have dropped. I had her tests updated at the beginning of the school year and now at the end of this school year and over half of her reading and math scores dropped. All of which has been heartbreaking. I've given the public schools a shot here in New York for three years (including having Juli repeat first grade twice), two of which have included special ed services. I felt like I had no choice but to begin widening my options for Juli's future. Maybe the committee will come up with another alternative. Clearly, the status quo is no longer an option.
On a brighter note, Seth, Juli, and I went to Governor's Island for Father's Day and had the best time. It was a short, free ferry ride, right next to the Staten Island Ferry in downtown. We rented bikes and rode around the island, exploring. Some artists installed a miniature golf course and we partook, though I got a bit of a sunburn in the process. The sunscreen was not packed because there was a flash flood watch in effect all day, so we weren't expecting the sun to be beating down on us the whole time! It also happened to be punk day, so everywhere we went a punk band was playing spewing lyrics that weren't exactly "family friendly." However, it was so loud, I don't know how much was actually understood by Juli! Seth insisted we get a picture with a few punkers. Because we weren't expecting the sun, neither Seth nor I brought sunglasses. Juli let Seth borrow hers and the bike rental people let me have some woman's sunglasses that were left behind earlier in the week, as you can well see in this picture and that Seth includes in his column on Playbill!
Until next time...
i found you on the top 100 list :)
http://queersunited.blogspot.com
Posted by: queerunity | June 24, 2009 at 11:04 AM