It's been another rough week...

This week was Andy's last week as a first grader. We got home from vacation on Sunday, and he had missed a full week of school. Because of that, Monday he was nervous and excited to go back.

When I picked him up after school on Monday, I could tell he had been crying. He said that a half hour before the end of the day he got upset that school was ending and started to cry. His teacher asked him what was wrong so he wrote her a note saying he was sad that school was ending.

That evening, he cried on and off throughout the evening about it. He would be fine, then the tears would start again.

I don't think it's about school so much, as it is the change. He's never done well with changes to schedule or his routine. I think the end of a school year is pretty anxiety inducing for him. I mean, he will go to summer school, but it will be a new teacher, different kids, everything about it will be different.

The rest of the week was the same...he would get emotional at different times about the end of the year. It was frustrating and saddening at the same time. I felt so bad for him, but when we were at the grocery store and he all of a sudden started crying about it again, I wanted to say, "Seriously? Give it up already!"

I would never do that, of course, but sometimes this is just exhausting. It's hard to always appear sympathetic when he cries for a week. It's hard to give so much to another human being. It's emotionally draining.

But, it's what we do because we are mothers, fathers, or siblings of someone with special needs. We do it because we love them.

Here's hoping that the transition to summer school is less painful...