“Solo Drop off Trip”
Around April of 2018 I was at my neighbor’s visiting with some of Natalie’s classmates and their parents. I was chatting with a mom I have always admired as she was so personable, positive, and knowledgable about education. The more I get to know her the more I am inspired by her work with children and just making this world a much better place. She mentioned a school to me that was out in Colorado, a boarding high school for kids that just can’t hang in whatever school system they are in. I actually snubbed it right away at first, NO! I don’t want to do that. I was NOT going to send my boy away good grief but something made me ask her again about 20 minutes later and well that is the beginning of our road to finding Colorado. I went home maybe an hour later and left again right away but left a note for Ethan on the kitchen table saying hey you! check out this school ( we had been looking at lot’s of other types of school) so he was used to looking at schools but when I got home he had already printed the application and filled it out. I guess he liked it.
Ever since that day Colorado has made it’s way into every little crevice of my life. So many things about it had started coming our way. To me it was affirmations that this was our place for now. I love out west, have been multiple times but oddly I had never once thought in my life hey I want to go to Colorado. He applied by end of May and In August days after my daughter’s beloved school burned to the ground he found out he had gotten in and that he was moving out west and because of the fire I was already a bag of emotions. He was sooooo happy and I was too but little did I know what kind of letting go was about to go down. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I experienced some extreme physical ailments from it days before we left and I almost did not get on that plane to drop him off. After dropping him off and heading back to my hotel room ALONE I had never felt more lonely in my life and honestly I like being alone but it was rough. It was a bit premature as he is still in High School and going across the country not up north 3 hours away like I thought he would for the first time leaving home.
The school is a place that feeds the soul of these children in every way, some of whom are struggling from some really toxic environments and some who are just there because their angels sent them there. The possibilities these children have at this school are endless and their exposure to what they could become is grandiose. There are struggles for them all but in the end they come out on top of that rock the school sits below and it is quite a beautiful thing… We are grateful!
Well all the drama of dropoff is behind us and we are all forever changed from it in the best possible way. Now I get to head west multiple times a year and I like that. My boy spoke about going to college last week. He has never been interested in college as his future had other paths. He said he has had dreams about what he wants to do. That’s pretty cool. I think it is hilarious that I am about to post a picture of Tupac Shakur as I don’t really follow the rap world but I stumbled upon this quote a month ago and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
