We are the Cottons. We are a family of four. We are a military family. We are a family with a son and a daughter. We are a family with healthy, happy children. We are a family affected by Special Education.
For the most part, my family is just like the family down the road or across the county. My husband gets up in the morning and heads to work. I get up and prepare my children for their school day. I do the grocery shopping, the laundry, and the thousand other things that need to be attended to. Most of my day is cookie-cutter. The single biggest difference I could think of is, that, most moms probably don't drop their child off at the car rider door and wonder if she will make it to her classroom. I've had days when I wondered if she would even make it inside the building! It's a long walk up the side walk for a developmentally delayed five year old. This is a concern I have had the entire year my daughter has been a Kindergartner in the Hopkins County School System. That's not the only concern, but it definitely tops the list. And, yes, the school has taken measures to ensure her safety....by my insistence.
This blog is not about earning your sympathy. It's about sharing our experiences, in the hope that something I have to say might be of use to someone else. Maybe it'll be a recipe or a book review. It's not all about the school system and our dealings with special education. But, I got a crash course in the workings of Special Education earlier this year. And, I didn't have anyone to help guide me through the maze. No one in the school system ever mentioned to us, in two and a half years, that there is a state agency called Protection & Advocacy. I found that out by asking questions of other folks in similar situations. I will be eternally grateful to those individuals.
How ever you found your way to this blog, there is one thing you need to understand perfectly and clearly: This is a personal blog with my personal thoughts and opinions. You're not going to agree with some of the things I say, and you are invited to leave comments to that effect. Please note, I reserve the right to remove any comments that I feel are inappropriate. Emphasis on "I feel are inappropriate".
The second thing you need to know about this blog, and probably the most important thing you need to know: this is not Gossip Girl. If I wrote it, I heard it with my own ears or read/saw it with my own eyes. If you can point out an un-truth on this blog, please do so at my expense. Notice that I put my name and my face on this blog. I'm not creating face-less, anonymous rants at anyone else's expense. This is me, telling you what I think. I am not afraid of voicing my opinion.
Creating a blog and sharing your life experiences and opinions is totally free. If you think your opinions are more important and educated than mine, the first thing you need to do is create yourself a Gmail account and then a blogger blog. Then leave me a comment or an email with your blog address. I won't judge you or call your posts ill-informed or uneducated. If I don't agree with you, I'll cordially tell you why.
In fact, I want to issue an invitation. If you read something on this blog that you strongly disagree with, I invite you to write a response and allow me to post it for you. But, to do this, I will ask for and share your identity. If you agree with me, I'd be happy to post your response, as well.
Very Sincerely, Misty Cotton email: meetthecottons@gmail.com
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