quick update

We're hanging in there. It's been beautiful out, and we've gone out somewhere every day, partly to prepare Oliver a bit more before he goes back to school. Today, we went to piano lessons, the very accessible No*komis Library, and the huge and wonderful accessible playground at Hia*watha School. Oliver was in good spirits - he was able to get some exercise without overdoing it, and I think he felt a bit better about using the chair. Noah and he are slowly finding some ways to play together at the playground, though that's a challenge. Oliver could ride all over the playground equipment in his chair, practiced a bit in the parking lot, and was able to browse the books in the open bins at the library. We even practiced in the handicapped bathroom, and he was quite pleased that he could use the sink from his chair - though that may well not even be necessary often. He's also gotten much better with the crutches - which my mom was really good at helping him with. She has a lot more experience with them than I do because she's had so many knee surgeries. All in all, a hopeful day.

Tomorrow, we navigate church for the first time. I am so struck by the fact that neither Faith (where the boys and I go every Sunday) nor Bryn Mawr (where Joel works on Sunday mornings) were accessible a few years ago, and both churches have put in elevators and other improvements since. We are grateful for the commitment and good choices made by those communities in regards to accessibility, because otherwise, we'd be unable to come to church now! Our pastor is going to touch on what's going on during the children's time during the service tomorrow, and we'll do a quick explanation together. Oliver seems relieved about that - he's very disturbed by the thought of people being surprised by the chair and having to answer a lot of questions. I've been trying to head that off a bit for him with some e-mails to his friends' parents, and a few neighbors, etc.

Joel and I are also going to do a quick update at the sharing time in his class on Monday, and answer some questions if the kids have any. Oliver will get to pick a buddy to help him get to his specialist classes (like art and science), lunch, and recess. One of the things I'll go over in both church and at school is the most basic rule of wheelchair etiquette: that you don't move a wheelchair without the owner's permission. Oliver hates the idea of kids moving his chair or wheeling him around without him being OK with it, and that's a level of control he really needs to be permitted. We have that over our legs, and he needs it over his chair and other equipment. Oliver's teacher thinks the kids will be good about that and eager to help him - and she emphasized that he'll quite well-liked, known for being kind, and friends with a lot of different kids. That will help him a lot, and it was very good to hear.