It’s that time of year again! The time where I sit back and mentally prepare myself for the up and coming 2016-2017 school year. Last year at this time, I wrote an early apology letter to my kid’s teachers, because if you know me, and you know my kids, you will understand why an early apology letter was needed. You can read that Here!

Vinnie’s Teachers~ We are ten days out from the first day of school, and well, it seems that Vinnie does not have a school to go to. Despite what he will tell you, this is not my fault. You see, Vinnie made the last-minute decision to change schools, and because I am such an awesome mom who will support my children, I told him I can make it happen! Guess what. I can not make it happen and right noe I have no idea what school Vinnie will be attending. The very nice lady who is in charge of these sorts of things from your district office is out until Tuesday. Of course she is! So, this is what will most likely happen. I will be stuck home-schooling him until the very nice lady from district, gets this sorted out. You know what else will happen? I will try my hardest to teach Vinnie math by using vodka. I will have the patience of a Saint, while I pour vodka into three shot glasses and then ask him the very important question “If there are three glasses of Vodka and Stephanie wants 1/5 of vodka, how much vodka will that leave Jessica? Vinnie will then look at me wondering exactly how many shots of vodka I had consumed before his “math” lesson and proclaim “THIS IS NOT EVEN A MATH PROBLEM MOM! I NEED TO LEARN MATH, NOT HOW TO BECOME A BARTENDER!” So for that, I am so sorry to whichever teacher he gets in whichever school he ends up at. The thing is, Vinnie is not what one would call an “easy” kid. Some may say that out of all my four children,Vinnie is most like me. Which, may present a very small problem for you, Dear Teachers. Vinnie always has to have the last word. Always. You will be calling me (I promise you, you will be calling me.) You will tell me what a good kid Vinnie is, you will tell me you know he has potential, and you will confirm what I have known for years, his mouth always gets him in trouble. I am sorry. With everything I have, I am sorry. You will have your hands full with him, but he is eager to learn. He is eager to learn so he can grow up and find a good job that makes a lot of money. He is also eager to learn so he can continue to play football. So, I just gave you a few incentives that you can use on him. You’re welcome.

Gracie’s Teachers~ Oh dear God where to even begin. Perhaps I should just get the apology out now. I am sorry. I am sorry that I will be needy and clingy through Gracie’s transition period into middle school. There is no way for me to even sugar coat that. I will be needy and clingy. Gracie does not do well with change. Most likely because she has autism, a less likely theory is because she is just like me. Either way, she does not want to come to your school. She hates it, she wants no part of it. The times I have taken her to your school, she has had a breakdown. Gracie looked her new principal directly in his eyes and ever so clearly told him “I do not want to be here, I want to go home.” When I ran into the principal at the district office (thank you Vinnie) he seemed to be recovering nicely. Now, you guys are Sped teachers so you know the drill. You have most likely seen it all. I have no doubt that you have helped the most challenging of kids transition nicely. However, this is my kid, so that is kind of a gamer changer. I will 100% do my part. All I want is for Gracie to have as easy of a transition as possible, I just ask that you also be patient with me. When you see me peaking through the window on your classroom door, just ignore me. If you happen to see me hiding in your coat closet, you don’t see a thing! I feel Gracie can be an easy target for some people. I need to know that you Dear Teacher, you will have her back. I am trusting you with her. That is not easy for me. Please watch over her as you would your own child. If I can trust you then Gracie will see that. If she sees that I trust you, then maybe, just maybe, that will be one small baby step in this transitioning process.

Sofia’s Teacher~ You have big shoes to fill! My family and I adored Sofia’s 3rd grade teacher. He was the perfect fit for her. I hope we are just as lucky this new school year. Sofia is such a sweet and innocent little girl. She always wants to please, even if it seems she is rushing through her work, she just wants to make you happy. She wants to make everyone happy. I can honestly say you will not have any issues with her. Well……okay…..I take that back. The only issue you may encounter is if Sofia comes in contact with a certain well-known little “spit-fire” who is also going into the fourth grade. If you are not careful, and aware of what may happen, sweet innocent Sofia is liable to go all “gangsta” on this little spit-fire. In the past, Sofia “may have” been a little too vocal about wanting to punch this little “spit-fire” in her face. So…there’s that. Other than that, no issues at all. I promise! However, you will still be stuck with me, and even though I know you most likely will not have any issues with Sofia, I will still be hounding you, asking you if everything is okay. Sofia takes on a lot. She is the only person who knows how to deal with her sisters breakdowns. Her dad and I count on Sofia to help us with Gracie, and sometimes, that may be unfair of us. It’s hard, and I do not always have the answers. That is why I cling on to you teachers. Many times you have answers that I do not have, and for that, I  thank you. Also…I am sorry. I have a feeling Sofia will be the easy one, me, not so much.

~Jennifer