Saturday, week one is almost complete. I sit in Starbucks killing time while Julianna is working her first shift at Old Navy here is Madison. Soon we'll have the "Badger Bus" set to get her to and from work and I won't have to drive her in. Julianna doesn't have classes on Friday so yesterday I picked her up and brought her home for the weekend. As happy as Juls was at school and living on her own this past week she was very, very happy to get home. Her own bed, mom and Neals good cooking, hugs and kisses...all the comforts.
Most of you know how hard Julianna has worked to get and keep her weight down and stay in really good shape. She goes to the gym 6 days a week, works with a trainer a couple times a month, watches very carefully what she eats, etc. The success may have some to do with the fact that I have been driving this fitness train for the last couple of years. As you can imagine, Juls going off to school and making all of her own decisions regarding food and exercise have left me feeling a little nervous. I would hate to see her with the "freshman 15"! The director of the program knows that fitness is an important part of Julianna's life and has worked times into her sched. for her to go to the school fitness center. This is great and has been working out well. Julianna has food to make her own meals with if she chooses not to eat the cafe food. Well, one day Julianna reported her lovely dinner with one of her classmates; a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fried cheese curds. Juls is really good at steering clear of french fries so this was a good choice....right? I laughed so hard and told her it was a good thing she tried them and hopefully enjoyed them but next time the french fries would be the better choice! Nothing like fried cheese, a Wisconsin staple.
The classes this week started slowly, that's good. Juls had fun meeting all kinds of new kids. She likes her teachers very much. When I asked about what happened in the classes she was "not really sure", one of her favorite answers. In her independent living class they planned a super bowl party, this she did remember......good girl, it's the important things that count! I, for one, think it is very important to learn how to throw a good party in order to get on well in life!
Next week I will attend a monthly parent meeting. Hopefully I will be able to get involved with the Cutting Edge program in some volunteer capacity. I am already on the housing board and have met a few parents. On Friday we will go to dinner with everyone from the program including parents while the students are attending the Winter Frost Ball. Pictures on that to be posted for sure!
All in all, this week has been amazing for all of us. I survived, a good thing, and Julianna thrived! And, cheese curds and all, at the gym yesterday afternoon Julianna weighed in 2 lbs down!! Take that freshman 15!!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Week one, day 4
I thought I would set this blog up so that I could kill many birds with one stone, ie: fewer emails.
The build up for this first week of college for Julianna has been fraught with so many emotions that I for one am exhausted. Julianna, being the one to actually go and experience it all seems to be taking it all in stride.
So, let's see....recap of the week:
We moved Juls into her darling house on Saturday, she was thrilled and not seeming nervous or apprehensive at all. She loved setting up her room and getting the food put away. She insisted on getting fresh flowers for the house (that's my girl!) Julianna has two roommates, one Cutting Edge (CE) student, Hannah, and a peer mentor, Suzi. They all have their own bedrooms and share a bath and a half. Julianna may not realize how luxurious this set up is. Next year she may be in the dorms with one or two roomies to a small room and this will all seem dreamy to her. The walk to school is about 2 blks, not bad unless it's a blizzard. We're working on walking back in the dark by herself...seems dicey to me but I'm being assured that it's very safe.
Day one of school Julianna had one class at 1:30 called Engaged Citizens, more on that later. But what the director does is give Juls a print out of a sched. on Mondays and basically fills her days with other things as well as the assigned class. So at 8:30 am she was at the schools fitness center working out. Later she had a mentor mixer, to match up with other mentors, and then a planned lunch date with other cutting edge students, study time etc.
About the class "Engaged Citizens"; this is a regular college course there that Juls is auditing. The college has a masters program in special ed. so this class is made up of reg. students and some CE students. The classes are very small and this particular professor is one of the two founders of CE. The class will look at different disabilities and then groups will do research on one disability (in Juls case, Down Sybdrome) and eventually present a power point presentation to the class. I think this is such an awesome opportunity for Julianna! Really, how much she knows about DS herself is pretty limited. Perfect for going out in the world as an advocate for herself and others.
The separation anxiety for the week has been very, very high! Oh, for me....not Juls!! Juls is in absolute heaven!! I have not been able to stop thinking about Julianna for a second. I am so proud, I worry, I miss her......I just can not believe that she is off at college and living in a house with other students. It is unbelievably great, all of it!! We have talked and texted a few times each day, I know it'll be less and less as time goes on (it's for me, not her). The program director seems very comfortable and confident and college like. They are not keeping me posted on the goings on at all and I don't want to be a pest so I'm just hanging back and letting things happen. This is a good time to realize "no news is good news".
There are many stories and cute things that have happened that I'll fill in as I write in future blogs. One that I just have to pass on is from the very first day. Julianna called me after her first day and told me that she was assigned a book to read, (uh oh, reading not a strong point). I reminded her of the practice reading we'd been doing the last couple of weeks and how all she needs to do is take it very slowly. Read a paragraph, think about it, read it again if she needs to. About a half an hour later Julianna texted me and said she'd been talking with Brandy. Brandy had told Juls that she was also going to buy the book and they'd read it "together" remotely. That Brandy! She is the most wonderful friend/person ever and I'm positive a one of the best new special ed. teachers to hit the schools! What a dear thing to do.
It has taken a village to raise Julianna and that village is now growing, at the college level.
More to come....
The build up for this first week of college for Julianna has been fraught with so many emotions that I for one am exhausted. Julianna, being the one to actually go and experience it all seems to be taking it all in stride.
So, let's see....recap of the week:
We moved Juls into her darling house on Saturday, she was thrilled and not seeming nervous or apprehensive at all. She loved setting up her room and getting the food put away. She insisted on getting fresh flowers for the house (that's my girl!) Julianna has two roommates, one Cutting Edge (CE) student, Hannah, and a peer mentor, Suzi. They all have their own bedrooms and share a bath and a half. Julianna may not realize how luxurious this set up is. Next year she may be in the dorms with one or two roomies to a small room and this will all seem dreamy to her. The walk to school is about 2 blks, not bad unless it's a blizzard. We're working on walking back in the dark by herself...seems dicey to me but I'm being assured that it's very safe.
Day one of school Julianna had one class at 1:30 called Engaged Citizens, more on that later. But what the director does is give Juls a print out of a sched. on Mondays and basically fills her days with other things as well as the assigned class. So at 8:30 am she was at the schools fitness center working out. Later she had a mentor mixer, to match up with other mentors, and then a planned lunch date with other cutting edge students, study time etc.
About the class "Engaged Citizens"; this is a regular college course there that Juls is auditing. The college has a masters program in special ed. so this class is made up of reg. students and some CE students. The classes are very small and this particular professor is one of the two founders of CE. The class will look at different disabilities and then groups will do research on one disability (in Juls case, Down Sybdrome) and eventually present a power point presentation to the class. I think this is such an awesome opportunity for Julianna! Really, how much she knows about DS herself is pretty limited. Perfect for going out in the world as an advocate for herself and others.
The separation anxiety for the week has been very, very high! Oh, for me....not Juls!! Juls is in absolute heaven!! I have not been able to stop thinking about Julianna for a second. I am so proud, I worry, I miss her......I just can not believe that she is off at college and living in a house with other students. It is unbelievably great, all of it!! We have talked and texted a few times each day, I know it'll be less and less as time goes on (it's for me, not her). The program director seems very comfortable and confident and college like. They are not keeping me posted on the goings on at all and I don't want to be a pest so I'm just hanging back and letting things happen. This is a good time to realize "no news is good news".
There are many stories and cute things that have happened that I'll fill in as I write in future blogs. One that I just have to pass on is from the very first day. Julianna called me after her first day and told me that she was assigned a book to read, (uh oh, reading not a strong point). I reminded her of the practice reading we'd been doing the last couple of weeks and how all she needs to do is take it very slowly. Read a paragraph, think about it, read it again if she needs to. About a half an hour later Julianna texted me and said she'd been talking with Brandy. Brandy had told Juls that she was also going to buy the book and they'd read it "together" remotely. That Brandy! She is the most wonderful friend/person ever and I'm positive a one of the best new special ed. teachers to hit the schools! What a dear thing to do.
It has taken a village to raise Julianna and that village is now growing, at the college level.
More to come....
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