Well it happened... one of my worst fears... Sal has left her position as Enhanced Staff Teacher with Liam! You see, I put it out there in the universe...I wrote the words in this blog...and it happened.
(There are a few other words I like to put out there in the universe and maybe they'll happen too - like "OHIP will fund Liam's out of country medical procedures"...there's a biggie - let's see if THAT happens - hey you never know - you can always dream! LOL)
Back to my 'worst fear'...
It was a regular Monday - I left work to pick up Liam and when I arrived at daycare all 'seemed' normal. Then...Sal began to speak....the words kept coming despite my best efforts to will them to stop:
"I had an interview with OFVIC (Ontario Foundation for Visually Impaired Children)...and they offered me the position of consultant, I start in 3 weeks"...
Everything became hazy. I started to sweat, time stood still, I started to cry... (cry are you kidding me... it's not like I was just told my 5 week old baby was blind or anything... you'd think I'd save CRYING for a more appropriate crisis.) Crisis...was this a crisis? Not in the true sense of the word - but it was a loss, a devastating loss for Liam...for me. I walked into the nursery area of the daycare, where Liam was sleeping - with no knowledge of what was happening to his world. One of the most important people in his life was leaving him. I know, it all seems a bit mello-dramatic. But in that moment...at that time...it felt like it was the end of the world...again.
Sal's words came out of left field - they knocked the wind out of me - took my breath away. My mind was racing, I was mad, angry, hurt, betrayed, confused all at once - I HAD to get out of that daycare...I NEEDED to talk to Dave - the ever-present source of stability in my life.
I picked Liam up out of his crib, clumsily put on his jacket and walked out of the daycare barely able to mouth the words 'good-bye' to Sal and Monika. I cried the whole way home. Some sappy song was playing on the radio which only magnified my sorrow and all I could think was, "I hope the Chardonnay is chilled!"
Fours weeks have passed since that 'Regular Monday', and once again, life is returning to normal. Liam has a new enhanced staff worker, Monika - she's our 'other angel' from back in the 'Heaven Sent' post. She's known Liam since his first days at daycare way back in August 2010. It's funny how things just fall into place sometime. Sal gave 3 weeks notice, her last day was Friday, April 15th, ironically, Monika's last day of school was Friday, April 15th - she started her new full time position with Liam on that following Monday... If it hadn't been for Monika I don't think the transition to a new Enhanced Staff Teacher would have been so smooth! THANK YOU Monika for being there for Liam, for stepping into Sal's shoes... I KNOW you and Liam will make great strides together and I can't wait to see all the amazing things you do together!
I will always love Sal for what she's done for Liam and our family. Since Liam came into our lives, so many people have said to us, "everything happens for a reason". I used to believe that those people were just trying to say something nice - to make us feel better. But you know, maybe they're right...
Maybe Liam was meant to be in Sal's life... to guide her towards a path she may not have discovered on her own. Liam and Sal have brought so much positivity into eachother's lives...and I truly hope their story doesn't end here. To be continued...
