Counting Down the Days

It's almost time!  We can start counting the time in days, now, until the conference.  I've been avoiding the calendar, trying not to look, because it's seemed so far away.  Not anymore!

This will be the fourth conference we've attended since having Abigail.  The first two years, we were hesitant and (in all honesty) overwhelmed with the job of getting into our new groove with 4 kids, and 2 with different abilities.  Jakob was diagnosed when Abbie was 1, and although for years we had suspected something was up, it was still a jolt and an adjustment dealing with everything.

Once we gathered ourselves together, we were ready to take the plunge and join in this amazing community. We were totally amazed and inspired at our first conference experience at Walt Disney World in Florida.  We took the kids with us (and my mother-in-law for some extra assistance with kid-watching), and drove all the way there from our home here in western NY state.  It was a long drive, but well worth every moment.  Following that conference, we extended our stay and took the kids to the Disney World parks.

The second year, we ventured out alone (gasp!).  Yes, without children, we attended the conference in San Antonio and were just as impressed with all of the wonderful people and workshops.  "Just Dance!" brought on a bout of tears.... tears of joy and hope for our daughter's future.

Last year, we were off to Washington, DC, and again we took the children with us (and my MIL) on the long drive.  Again, it was well worth the effort.  Last year, we had the older 3 signed up for the Brothers and Sisters conference, and it was a great experience for them all.  Our oldest has autism, but the conference leaders were patient and handled things calmly.  Abigail also had some time in the Kids' Camp and had a blast making new friends and playing.

This year, we once again are stepping out by ourselves.  This time is a little different, though.  For the first time in 15 years, since we had our first child, we are extending our stay an additional week.  (Aaaahhh!)  Yes, we will be without our children for the very first time for a full 10 days.  I honestly do not know how I'm going to manage.  It will surely feel strange.  However, it is also our 20th anniversary, and we had an offer from my mother and one of my sisters to come and stay with the kids, so we're taking the plunge and celebrating.  Following the conference, we'll be flying to FL to stay at Disney for the week.  I'm both excited and terrified at leaving the kids for that long.

Thank goodness we have Skype.

I am getting very excited about the conference, and about meeting some people in person, hopefully, that have become online friends.  I can't wait for the dance party, and I'm already trying to decide what topics we'll look for this year.  We usually attend sessions individually so that we can cover more ground.  We'll keep you posted!

T

The flights are booked (as are the babysitters)!