Intermission

It's been a difficult summer for us, with lots of things going on.  Here's a recap of the highs and the lows:

Biggest high: Alex made it through the summer with only one small accident.  He is still independently toileting.  I think we can finally call it: he's toilet trained.  It's been 12 long years of trying everything we could think of, but the real praise goes to our behaviour consultant, who has spent the last 3 years coaxing him toward this goal.  Now that toileting is done, we'll actually have the mental space to work on other goals.

2nd biggest high: our newest four footed furry member: Neelix.  I'd been searching for a kitten for quite awhile, so that Nathan could have someone to focus his attention on instead of the service dog.  Enter Neelix, a domestic short hair with tabby stripes and a huge, playful personality.  She's adjusted well to our household, including the dog and our older cat, Ceili.  Ceili still doesn't like her but is willing to live and let live.  The dog would love to play, but Neelix is a little shy about it, considering the dog is almost 100 times larger than her.

Biggest low: The loss of Icon.  He's okay (for those who were reaching for the tissues) but he has developed diabetes and can no longer be a service dog.  We've spent a lot of time trying to figure out if he could stay with us but reality is harsh: I can't manage a special needs animal and I have my doubts about dealing with two large, active dogs.  (Alex will be getting a replacement service dog at the end of September.)

2nd biggest low: continued health problems for me.  I've had a summer of adjusting medications, incredibly low energy and painful cramping.  There's no real end in sight right now and I'm having trouble coping with the depression, which is why I've been silent.

Other highs: 

I've spent the summer working with our education consultant to get Alex's IEP in order.  It had gotten messy with all of the changes last year and some information got lost.  Alex has a new teacher this year, so hopefully he'll do better than last year.

Nathan has the same teacher as last year, which should hopefully mean another good school year for him.

I got an invitation to an exclusive writers' retreat for October, which I am very much looking forward to, since I am behind on my deadline for the latest book.

The trip to Calgary went reasonably well, but was considerably more draining than I'd expected.  The kids had trouble while we were there, but have been asking to go back so maybe a second trip will be more successful.

I'm hoping that I can post more regularly now but I'll ask for patience.  Thank you to everyone who reached out to me to pass on good wishes and concerns.