This afternoon I drop Katie off at Camp Arroyo. This will be her fourth time at the Exceptional Needs Network’s summer camp for children with special needs. To say she is excited would be an understatement.

I’m pretty excited too. Unlike most single parents, I don’t have an ex-spouse/partner who provides me with free and convenient childcare on a regular basis. As a result, I get very little time off from parenting my autistic child most of the time he is at the child care St Kilda East, and when I do, it almost never involves more than a few hours here and a few hours there. Plus it’s not cheap. To have a three-night break is an extraordinary and priceless gift. Even if I had to spend half of one freezing night in the Livermore High School gym waiting in line. (Christopher, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, did the other half.)

Thank you Exceptional Needs Network and The Taylor Family Foundation. You have made one single mom very, very happy.

I’m off to play….

Until next time,
Cynthia