Izzys been at the ABA center now for three weeks. I’ve seen more smiles and received more hugs in these past three weeks than I have in years. She has a lot of work to do, but I have no doubt that they will get her where she needs to be with time and love and guidance. The fact that the center is so small, she has so much individual attention and that Sara is amazing are beyond beneficial for our girl.

She has chores at the center…Izzy is doing chores! Vacuuming her therapy room, cleaning the sink and taking out the trash. Chores! She’s not always happy about them but she does them. They do yoga, meditation and takes walks around the neighborhood. And she does her school work and lots of crafts! She was so angry when we started this journey. She didn’t want to go to a “special school” and she was angry that we made this decision for her not with her. But as I thought she would, she is settling in and making strides.

And my Jackson. He’s starting his third week at Purdue. He has two weeks of band and one week of classes under his belt. He and Brad, his roommate, are getting along well and he’s feasting on chick-fil-a, sushi and Pizza like a college pro. There aren’t a lot of activities around campus to participate in due to Covid and the Protect Purdue plan, so I know there is downtime in which he can get a little bored, but he’s loving it all the same. Classes should pick up pace this week and homework is anticipated. He has a mix of online and in person classes. Band is a fun respite for him. He’s playing the bass trombone bc they needed a few more and he volunteered. He’s borrowing a university instrument. They have special instrument masks with a slit in them and a beautiful block P bell cover to help protect against Covid. We’ve been able to see him play and march the fight song and have several pictures of him in practice thanks to a wonderful Facebook page. Grateful for that.

I Snapchat with him at least once a day. I’ve found that snapping gets a response much faster than texting. Although most of the time it’s a crooked and less than handsome pic of his face or maybe the underside of his bed. Whatever-I enjoy what I get.

We had to run up there last Wednesday to deliver him a new computer. We were with him maybe 30 minutes, and when we were getting ready to leave, Izzy asked him for a hug. And then a second hug. He was baffled with her asking him for the hug. She told him “I’m a hugger now.” 😂

I feel like we’ve landed in this place where things are kind of status quo. For now. And it’s not a bad place to find ourselves. Jackson is happy and safe and following the Protect Purdue rules. Izzy is safe and growing at the ABA center. Todd is frustrated at work most days, but that’s nothing new and he’s trying hard to leave it at work…or on the road between work and home. And I’m so busy at work right now that I don’t seem to have time to miss Jackson or worry about how Izzys day is going. Weekends are a different story. We try to be busy at least one day of the weekend, but in the quiet weekend hours I find myself really missing my boy. So I’ve gotten my puzzle table back out and have found a good book series to occupy my time. I have a good friend who challenged me to do something with my time that I’ve always wanted to do but have never had time to do before. I keep thinking of what I want that to be but haven’t landed on anything yet.

I can’t believe it’s already September. Before I know it Jackson will be 19 and Izzy 13. We’ll be celebrating Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas and then we can leave 2020 behind us and look forward to a fresh and hopefully more stable and event-filled 2021. My mom always told me to not wish my life away… but I think most of us, including my mom, are ready for our next chapter/year. 😉