Settling in, Moving forward

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” -Alan Watts

Well we have joined the dance full force here.  Change is something that is bound to happen no matter what we do to stop it.  One way or the other, it's bound to shake things up.  

Minnesota has definitely been different than Virginia.  And no, not just seasonal differences (No, it wasn't snow in August.  We found out it's an ice rink but it fooled us for a day or so).  

It's also busier and bigger than where we came from.  We are in a neighborhood surrounded by people.  Which I actually like.  I can walk to the post office, store, library and Cary Lynn's new therapy center is 15 minutes from here.  On the flip side, most of our specialists are in Minneapolis or St. Paul and that has been a learning curve with driving in a big metro area.  

Cary Lynn has not always been impressed with her new team (and a few of them I'm still thinking about too!) but overall everyone seems to be on the same page with her care and the direction we are going.  

I miss my friends and my support team in Virginia.  Marvin misses his old school and his therapist who was one in a million.  We miss our family and realize that unless they come here, we may not see them again.  Cary Lynn isn't easy to transport and her equipment needs increase as time goes on.  That's hard for everyone.  

But there have been such good things happening as well. Services are better here.  Respite services are available for Cary Lynn.  She did her first stay at Crescent Cove for the past weekend and had a ball!  

Seriously, we all were busting our humps getting ready for my parents to come this week and she gets a giant unicorn and snuggly blankets.  I was a little envious.  They are probably one of my new favorite things about Minnesota (the unicorn got to come home with us, Marvin said it was a boy so his name is Pete).  

It's been an adventure overall.  Are we happy for the move?  I would say for the most part yes.  It's been bumpy and we still miss Virginia.  But finding out that the kids can have services and I don't have to fight as hard to get their needs met has been amazing.  And the people who have been working with us have been pretty amazing as well.  So we will continue to dance to the beat of change and hope that things keep looking up.