Well, that was NOT fun

Q: How do you completely stress out a mom?

A: Tell her a week before classes start that her kid's not enrolled in school.

Oh, and for bonus points, remember that this is a kid with diabetes, who requires LOADS of extra planning to ensure his safety and well-being!

Man, that was my week. It started when I found out, by accident, that Mark wasn't enrolled in after-school care because he wasn't enrolled in school. (What the WHAT????) Classes were full, so I was supposed to show up on the first day of school, and probably take Mark to a different school with openings. And maybe (maybe not) a school nurse. And definitely a staff not trained in diabetes care. And not even in our neighborhood.

Talk about stress!! To say I flipped out is a bit of an understatement. I was like Bruce Banner, but instead of the Hulk, I turned into Mad Mama Bear. Luckily, as my mom noted, I've got my grandmother's genes. I wasn't going to roll over easily.

And so I went into hyperdrive, phone and keyboard in hand. I called and emailed pretty much anybody working in the departments titled "superintendent" or "board of education." I spoke to everyone in the front office at the elementary school, including the principal and the counselor, multiple times. I brought out the big guns--my letter writing-skills, diplomacy and even the D card (diabetes), and my sense of indignation that, yet again, my child was being denied access to his neighborhood school. I pleaded, implored, rampaged, and ended up taking more Tylenol in the past few days than I have all year long.

But it worked! With much help from the superintendent's admin assistant and the principal, the school opened up another 3rd glass class, and my son's enrolled in it. Grandma was right--a little hell-raising helps.

Whew...it was quite the Chinese fire drill (without the car, of course). But he's in, he's got after-school care, and I'm relieved. I have no idea who his teacher is, but right now, I don't even care. I'm just excited that for...well, the first time EVER...my son can walk to his own neighborhood school, safely, in less than 10 minutes, and spend the day learning with other kids from our neighborhood.

I guess it's true what they say about the harder the battle, the sweeter the success...this one's been 2 1/2 years in the trenches, capped off by a crazy week before school starting, and victory couldn't possibly feel any sweeter than it does now. :-)