First Day of School

School started on Tuesday, August 29. Jaclyn started 1st grade & David started Kindergarten. All 5 of us walked to the bus stop on Tuesday morning. All 3 kids had backpacks and lunchboxes. We were welcomed by 10 other families at the bus stop. They yelled "Hurry up O'Learys - we are waiting for you to get in the picture!".

Bus arrived. David and Jaclyn ran onto bus. Bus took off. JP stood there in shock as the bus drove off. Mommy stood there in tears. Daddy continued to video tape.

JP, Mommy and Daddy walked hand in hand back home.
As we walked home we felt the following:
- Sense of comfort that our kids were excited to go to school.
- Nervous with how their day would go.
- Happy with our move & the welcoming reception of the neighborhood families.
- Sense of accomplishment that our kids are moving forward.

Why do I feel like the years are going too fast?

NOTE: David had a PPT meeting on Monday. We are extremely happy with the attention give by Newtown Special Services for David. They are evaluating him for the next 30 days and we reconvene in mid October. Shout out to fellow Spellman alumni, Marisol Troche (David's Superkids teacher) for being a strong advocate for us at this meeting.

Taking Your Kids To Work

One major memory I have of my father is going to work with him. He worked in the World Trade Center Twin Towers as a telephone technician. Imagine the excitement of a 10 year old spending the day with his father. As my father setup telephone systems I ran around corporate offices, stairwells, areas marked "employees only" and essentially was "behind the scenes" of 2 large towers.

Today David and Jaclyn came to work with me. They met a boy, Evan who is the son of a co-worker. They played and ran throughout the office. They attended meetings with me.

Our exchange as we walked out of the office.
Jaclyn: "Daddy, I love you and I love when you take us to your job"
David: "Yeh Dad that was cool"

I always worry about David in these social settings. Especially seeing him interact with his peers makes my heart wrench. He wasn't perfect, but he was great.

This might be an experience for today but hopefully will be remembered for many tomorrows.

New Beginnings

I have not posted since May 31. Why? We sold our home in Stratford and now live in Newtown, CT. Needless to say, June and July has been unsettling yet exciting.

We spent the 1st night in our new home on August 6. That night prior to going to bed all 3 kids were running around the house. Since we have no furniture they found this fun. David stopped his running, looked at me and said, "Dad, this place is great!". Jaclyn stopped running, looked at me and said, "Dad, this place is so cool!"

That made this move all worthwhile.