A New School

Today marked a major milestone in our new hometown. This afternoon, Mom and Dad took Rebecca to register at her new school - Wingate Oaks. Wingate Oaks is the home of the Roaring Lions. It is a K-12 public school that focuses on meeting the educational needs of children with complex mental and physical handicaps.

Recall that in yesterday's post, we discussed Rebecca's laugh. Well, we got another laughter experience as we approached the school. We had visited Wingate Oaks in October as we were planning our transition from Lakeland to Tamarac. Rebecca was with us on that visit. Rebecca loves school and we expected her to have some anxiety about leaving Doris A. Sanders Learning Center, her school in Lakeland, and going to a new school. However, Rebecca quickly expressed that she was happy about our trip today. As we turned down the road to her school, even before the school was within sight, she began to giggle. This was her "I'm extremely happy with my life" giggle. It is a giggle that she saves for those most outstanding activities that bring her great joy.

The giggles did not stop with our arrival at the school. Once inside, we were met by her new teacher, Mrs. Nancy, and her guidance counselor. They were quickly joined by the school nurse, the YMCA after school coordinator, and several others. Mrs. Nancy is wonderful. She immediately engaged Rebecca in conversation, asking her questions as she was asking us about Rebecca. And Rebecca loved it. She knew right away that she was going to be treated like a teenager and was going to have an opportunity to be directly involved in planning her own education activities, generating another round of giggles. Mom and Dad were really excited about this as well.

Isn't it wonderful how God enables us to find great joy in the simple, even the mundane tasks of life. How easy it would have been to have viewed the process of signing up for school as something that Mom or Dad did and that Rebecca had no place in. We thank God daily for our little girl (sorry, our young lady) and we rejoice with her at the great joy she receives form the most simple activities of life. Perhaps there is something we can all take away from Rebecca's new school experience. Are there little things in your life that God is trying to use to show you the great joy that He has made available to you?