In and Out Like a Lion

What is that old saying, if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb? Is it possible to both come in and go out like a lion?

The first week of March I attended Eliza's IEP. It was blessedly painless and I was given everything I asked for. Eliza will attend Gramercy in the fall and receive speech therapy, PT and OT three times a week at the school as well as sensory based OT at home in the evenings. I think I was lucky to have two great service coordinators and a great agency YAI working on Eliza's behalf. I also think, that despite all of the funding cuts for EI and CPSE lately, that New York City continues to provide superior services for children like Eliza.

Week two of March we headed off to Saba. The trip had a dual purpose. One to celebrate Eliza's third birthday and the second to inter my father's urn in the family cemetery (yes on Saba we have our own cemeteries). Despite dire predictions of hassles with the TSA and St. Maarten customs, we were able to bring my Dad's urn out of the country and into the Antilles without a hitch. Dad's final resting place is a beautiful bench under a Jasmin tree with a view of the ocean.

Eliza's birthday party was great fun ... for the first 90 minutes. Eliza had a grand time with about 20 of her cousins, ages 2 to 5, and about another 40 or 50 adults. About 90 minutes into the party something set her off and she was in such a meltdown I had to leave the party with her. Based upon the beer consumption I think I can report that at least the adults had a good time.

Other than the birthday festivities, Eliza thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was particularly fond of taking walks, picking every flower in sight, peeling (but not eating) every banana she could grab and chasing after lizards. For some odd reason 90% of our vacation photos were taken on my porch. I can promise you though we didn't spend the whole time on the porch.

My nephew Peter joined us on the trip and he was an invaluable travel companion. I think there was a bit of "life coming fill circle" as Peter, who spend many an hour being carried on my Dad's shoulders, carried Daddy's urn down to Saba for us. He also was an enormous sport about painting my roof with no scaffold, just a rope tied to the railing (the Saba version of an OSHA safety measure). Eliza adores Peter and I think the feeling is mutual. We found a laundry basket that served as a great swing and Peter got a good upper body work out swinging Eliza for hours. When Peter left after the first week Eliza took the basket, put it aside and said "wait for Pete!" I was a little grateful that she didn't look to me for hours of swinging.

The month was closed out with some surgery for my mother to have two of her four parathyroid glands removed. The surgery went well and she should be on the mend soon. One bonus of the surgery was that I got to spend the day with my first sister-in-law Linda. It was a real treat to visit with her and she was a great help and comfort to me and my mom.

So here is to hoping that April is just a sleepy little lamb for us.

And no post would be complete without some photos from the past month: