New shoes and why I love racket ball courts

So the other day I treated myself to a new pair of trail runners. I have not gotten myself new shoes for almost three years due to being on an adoption budget. The holes in the other ones were so far gone that I needed to take the plunge. To top things off I have difficult feet and a complicated ankle injury that acts up when changes are inflicted upon it. Non- the less I found a great pair of shoes that at first were supper comfortable and a good match for my feet. So the next day I go to do my work out (because I must loose the Texas hotel weight I gained.) This morning though I woke up with all sorts of new aches and pains and a very unhappy ankle.

What does all this have to do with our adoption blog? Well, it is a good analogy to what I think Isaac is going through. His old home was like my old shoes, adequate but some major holes were present. Our house is like the new shoes, a better fit, tailored to his needs and lots of support where support is needed. None the less, my body is still sore because it was a change, even if it was a good change. The same is true for Isaac. He is not able to process that this is a good thing or a temporary soreness because it is different. To him sometimes it would seem like a good idea to take the shoes back or not ever work out again because it was/is uncomfortable. It was a way of reminding me that all things take time. Today I will not be able to do as strong of a work out/nor should I. Over time I will get used to the shoes and be able to push to a new limit until another obstacle arises. The same is true for my new little guy. The other big thing, is we are regularly expected to be adjusted right now. Isaac has not yet been in our world for a month. It would be like expecting those 15lbs I want to loose to be gone in the one week of working out. Sure that would be cool, but not exactly a realistic expectation. With Isaac we would be doing fabulous if we all were set in the new normal of our family by Christmas. I say the "new normal" because life will never be like it was before him, nor should it be. We have a new person in our family, and it is tough work to adjust to such a big change. Just like it is tough work to shed these 15 lbs.

On to why I love racket ball courts. If you are looking for a great thing to do when it is raining or a million degrees out, I highly recommend a racket ball court and one ball per child and a racket for the grown up. Yesterday we went into this white room with a door that shut and a place where my kids could scream their hearts out. It was fun for all. I loved just getting to play with them and let them be their wild little selves.

Yesterday I also had a great IEP meeting to get Isaac all set up for school. They managed to get all of his test results from Texas which were really useful and very similar to what I was thinking. It was nice to see that someone else had seen many of the same things. What is also very encouraging is that Isaac has many of the same issues that Emerson HAD. This school is great and I am confident they will have him where he needs to be before kindergarten in two years. So Tuesday he will go for his first day and I think he will love it. He is very routine oriented, he loves crafts and singing and his teacher is unflappable.