Political Surprise

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No, not that one. This political surprise was a lot more local.

You could have knocked us over with a feather when we got this news.

Buddy Boy, now 8 years old and in third grade, decided to run for the school council. To do so, candidates had to give a speech and make a poster. His poster simply said:

Vote for Me!

Buddy

We asked him what he said for his campaign speech. He said he told the kids that he would do whatever they said (sounds like he has a future as a politician).

And then the real shocker
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He won!!!!

His teacher assured Liz that she had not made a mistake, and Buddy Boy had indeed been elected by his classmates. Buddy Boy's teacher moderates the council, so she'll be able to facilitate his participation (yahoo! another free social skills opportunity).

Buddy Boy seems pretty proud of himself, but at the same time says, "I thought I was going to win".

It's times like these when I can truly feel that anything is possible. And I also feel relieved, because we never seem to know exactly how the other kids are feeling about him. Are they accepting him for who he is? Do they like him at all? Or just tolerating his presence?

Today those fears recede to the background. Today we celebrate.

Palin speaks to us

"To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you. For years you've sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters and I pledge to you that if we're elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House".

Tomorrow, Republicans will be crowing about a lot of the great "lines" that were in Sarah Palin's speech.

Tomorrow, Democrats will be bashing the Republicans.

But tonight I rejoice that someone who will spend her life "walking the walk" of raising a child with special needs may end up having the ear of the President of the United States. The lines quoted above were heartfelt and spoken with a sincerity seldom heard from any politician.

If Sarah Palin doesn't win this election, I want to hire her as an advocate for our next IEP meeting. And as all of you who have gone to IEP's know, an advocate's job is at least as tough as being Governor any day.