Since we’re talking stories (last post), let’s delve into a new one today.

There was once a girl who was brave and courageous. Because of an extremely rare syndrome, she dealt with dwindling vision loss and some other struggles with learning at school.

That girl also had a will of steel. Sometimes it was difficult to let others in who offered help. She wanted to be just like everyone else. This hindered her progress in many ways. It was difficult to progress and be independent when she was unwilling to admit she may need auditory help with her computer. Or assignments enlarged. Or help walking down a dark hallway.

But that determination was going to work for her in good ways as well. As she approached her sophomore year of high school she realized in order to be independent (her biggest dream), she may have to start utilizing the services offered to her.

She smiled at her mobility specialist who met her at the school the day before the first day. She listened attentively to her tips on her cane use.

She met a couple teachers with confidence. She memorized her schedule and the route to each class.

This mobility specialist helper has been with Lucy since she was in pre school, she is the best.

She showed her cousin around right along with her (her cousin had moved from Hawaii so they could go to school together for a year…ok, really so her little brother could have their Uncle as a teacher, more details HERE, but is there much more exciting than cousins going to high school together? I don’t think so!)

And that cousin was pretty fascinated at that giant school she too would be attending.

Despite lots of work, that cute cousin of hers and her mother (with the rest of her family who can’t make it to the desert until next week) were unable to get all the documentation through correctly to have the same first day (boo!), but decided to “count it all joy” (the theme of their family reunion they just finished)…one more morning to sleep in! And those two girls still got to have a night-before-school dinner together filled up with enchiladas they helped make and with the word “BUILD” as a one-word reminder for this school year.

May it ever remind them (and me and Dave too) to keep moving.

Build relationships.

Build knowledge.

Build foundations.

Build faith.

Build goodness.

Build love.

When the girl’s mom’s friend dropped by and asked her if she was ready, she gave an enthusiastic “YES!”

She got all prepped and ready, complete with a hair trim from her mother (not a “cut” she was sure to clarify, just a “trim”), and they read a little Narnia together before snuggling down for sleep.

And then she marched out the door, early that 26th day of July in the desert:

…reunited with her friends to carpool to school together:

…and headed into that sea of students to maneuver the first day of her tenth grade year.

She called her mother twice during the day, her jubilant voice ringing happily through the phone between classes making that mom of her’s heart turn to mush.

When she burst through the door at the end of the day for her traditional first day of school “cookie chat,” the air stood still wrapped up in her excitement, and all was well.

There is something about worry, that mother of hers realized: when it clears away, the highs are even better than they would have been without it.

(Of course, today is a new day with all kinds of new terrain to traverse, but I’ve learned to enjoy the vistas when they come.)

And that is the story of how the first day went down for a family reduced down to one-child-at-home-turned-into-two.

That second 10th grader gets to join her cousin in that sea of high schoolers today, woohoo! She’s pretty excited!

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8 Comments

  1. How many members of your brother’s family will be living in the desert? Have their kids gone to school in Hawaii or were they homeschooled? Did they find a place to live?

    1. They were home-schooled a few years but mostly they went to public schools on Maui. His two oldest are now in college so they’ll be here with their youngest three. Haven’t found a place to live yet. We are loving having Elsie stay with us and all of them next week until they find a spot.

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