September 11, 2001. December 7, 1941. Now those are some dates of disasters. At our house, sadly, last February 13 is among them. Here’s the link to my blog that day.

While the blog makes it sound like I was rather shell-shocked and overwhelmed, I’ll tell you this much…I had NO IDEA what it was going to take to try to get IDEA (the special ed law) to meet my child’s needs. Last February 13, I had no way of fathoming where I’d be this February 13.

In my new career as the principal, teacher, chief cook and bottle washer of Ladybug Elementary. And several thousands of dollars poorer due to legal fees and total loss of income. And many magnitudes angrier. And more determined than ever to insure that the bully of a school system we’re up against (and an apparently less-than-noble state agency) give LuLu the education she needs.

What an awful experience this has been! Awful enough that I tell other parents…run, don’t walk away from the school. Save all your pennies to pay for the private tuition, tutors, or the sudden loss in income. Do as I say…save yourself the torture.

We still don’t know what’s going to happen. Our next IEP meeting is February 23 (and yes, I’d still rather have a mammogram or root canal…or maybe both…rather than attend an IEP meeting). The IEP meetings are especially contentious now, as you might imagine.

I suspect we’re off to federal court. I suspect the school system will not agree to what we are now clear that LuLu needs. I suspect they are still trolling this blog looking for who knows what. I wonder daily how I ended up here.

So while things for LuLu, biochemically and academically, have changed for the better, things for good ol’ Mom and Dad have not. Last year, right before Feb 13, we went on a date… a Valentines celebration. A luxury we can’t afford.

Oh well, just making it through the day, without any of the anniversary reactions we are so quick to talk about in our traumatized kids will be celebration enough.