I Lost Sight, But Now I See

Last week, I wrote a snippet from a bad week that had come near the end of a tough school year. After that post and some of the comments I received, I realized that I lost sight of a critical ingredient through my struggle. I was wasn’t relying on my faith.

I tell people all the time; follow the signs – give it up to God – he talks, you just have to listen and here I am not practicing what I preach. I even wrote a post two months ago, where I mention that I pray to make the best decisions for my son. But, for a little while there, I lost sight in the power of prayers. I let the mom in me and the anger from the constant fight for my son, take over. I lost sight of my own beliefs, but I got reigned back in with a little help from friends and family.

A few messages I received:

2 Corinthians 12:10, When you’ve done everything you can do, that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t do. 
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Keep your faith strong and pray for guidance. 💖🙏

What does God want to do with Joey’s life?

Follow your heart Sandy with God’s plan & in God’s time, everything will be good. Keep your strength, faith, & love in your family. If anyone can do it, I believe you can. 

and it finally sunk in. I took a deep breath and realized they were right. God is going to let me know the answer. I do know he rewards me because I listen and believe, not to mention talk about him. What was the matter with me? I lost sight for a moment. I am blessed that I have enough family and friends who are there to remind me. And that’s what they did. I would do the same for them, and that’s the way I want my life to be. I will be there for you when you lose sight, and I need all of you to remind me when I forget.

A Door Opens

So on Tuesday, I went to see a program, and it is everything that I could have dreamed for my son. But I have to take you back and tell you how I got the name of this program. Some months ago, I convinced my husband, who owns a barber shop, to start staying open late on Thursday nights. No big deal, just until 6 pm for people who rush home from work. He doesn’t really get any late customers, but one evening in the winter, the door opened and a guy came in.

Somehow during the haircutting conversation, it was disclosed that we had a son with Down Syndrome. Freddy told him that Joe was turning 18 and we were looking for a transition program for the following year. Turned out that this man worked in the special needs field specializing in transitioning. When he left, he gave Freddy his business card and told him to call should he need any help. That man never went back to the barbershop again.

Last week when Freddy heard me crying on the phone to a friend, he remembered he had his card and gave him a call. This wonderful man remembered giving Freddy his card and told him about a program at a local college; one I would learn he was instrumental in starting some years back. The Pleasantville Lab School at Westchester Community College.

I called my special ed director (CSE), who immediately called the young woman who now runs the program. The class was ending for the year, but they had a couple of openings, and we needed to visit ASAP. Joe and I made an appointment to visit this past Tuesday. The only monkey wrench that my CSE could see was that Joe would have to be able to navigate the property independently. Ugh … That was a huge worry, but I had to be hopeful. I got my messages and I would try to not lose sight again.

A Dream Come True

This program is at our local college, 5 minutes away from our house. They have culinary classes in the cafeteria, computer lab classes, life skills, and the opportunity to sit in on college electives that my son may be interested in. They make a schedule for your child based on their strengths and interests.

Joe’s favorite thing to do is listen to classic rock and a few weeks ago, he even performed at an event at our school called “The Coffeehouse.” You can watch that video here. This program is so perfect, they also have a radio station where he may have the opportunity to do an internship.

When we toured the classes, I saw how hard this is going to be for Joe to get around independently. It was a pretty good walk between buildings. When we came to one of the classes, we had to walk up modern lucite stairs and Joey was having a difficult time. He has no depth perception and was struggling to see where to put his feet. I worried for a minute but then she said there is also an elevator in that building. When we discussed his navigating capabilities, she calmed those fears too.

She explained there are peer mentors who work with these young men and women and help them navigate the property as they go class to class. The hope is that within a couple of months, they will be more independent. They even do travel training every Friday and go out into the community.

At the end of the tour, I nervously asked what would happen next and she said that Joe would make a great fit to the program. Yes- I cried – I am crying as I write this! On Thursday, late afternoon, I got the official confirmation call from our CSE director that he was indeed accepted and a final meeting set. My Joe is going to college!!!

I see it now …

God did send that man to us a few months back and my husband said it to me then, but I blew it off. I genuinely believe I had to go through the struggle first. How will we learn strength and perseverance if we don’t encounter conflict? Maybe it was to get some information to share and spread awareness. If I wasn’t struggling, I would not have written this post or the last one. I may have lost sight, but I see it now.

Paying It Forward

I received so much love out there! One of the reasons why I write a blog is to bring awareness to certain struggles. If anyone needs anything, don’t be afraid to put it out there, people really do want to help! It makes them feel good. Because my daughter shared my post on her own facebook, Joe even got an offer for a job working in a kitchen at a camp!

Do you have a local community facebook page? If not, maybe start one. You never know who is listening or reading, and you find out that you aren’t alone with whatever you are going through. We have a wonderful one in my community. I shared my post last week and the outreach and response were heartwarming. If we all share, we can help each other. It takes a village!

Here are some of the links shared with me from last week. These programs have branches locally to me and across the country to aid in the transition years after High School:

Project Search
ARC
Ability Beyond

WIHD is a more local organization that can help from teaching to advocate for your child from a young age to transition years. I have attended classes here and they are very informative!

This is an add-on, but a friend sent me this hopeful article on the future of higher education for young adults with Developmental disabilities, DS, ASD and CP. The program I picked for my Joseph is on this website! Think College-Forbes.com

If anyone has any questions in the special needs process or about supports or programs, please reach out through my facebook or email or Ask Sandy. Links are all at the top of the page.

Don’t lose sight of your hopes and dreams, keep fighting. I KNOW it can be exhausting but the rewards are worth it.

Not Forgotten

Many Blessings and thank you to everyone who has sacrificed their lives in service to our country to keep us safe. God Bless you!

Much Love Always and Happy Sunday,

Sandy

#enlighten #empower #inspire #educate and always #BeKind