Our Return To Richmond

My feelings at this point:  Conflicted.  It’s never easy to walk away from your dream job and that is what I had just done.  At the time it was scary, but looking back we certainly made the right decision.  I landed on my feet and Ben was introduced into a community of people who appeared to care about his well-being

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Our first few weeks in Richmond were quite difficult.  Dennis had been staying with some dear friends and when I arrived we were still several days from securing an apartment in the school district which we wanted Ben placed.  Our friends were kind enough to open their home to us during this time and while they were gracious hosts, I could not help but feel that we were imposing.  About ninety percent of our clothes were packed away in boxes, so during the day Ben and I made several trips to the local thrift shop to find enough clothing to wear.  I had much to do.  It was late October and I had to get Ben registered in school, find an appropriate and affordable after school daycare, and find a job.  While I was looking for a job the friend who had just hired Dennis once again came to our rescue.  He was in need of temporary accounting help and offered to let me work there until I found a permanent position elsewhere.  This was especially helpful due to the fact our house in Charleston took several months to sell, and paying for it and the apartment would have been a huge financial burden had I not been working.

Ben was placed in a kindergarten program at Henry Clay Elementary School in Ashland, Virginia.   His special education class consisted of just a few students, but they spent much of their time mainstreamed with one of the regular kindergarten classes; a setting that worked well despite the fact that in Charleston we were told this would have been impractical; even in a kindergarten setting.

Our search for an after school program took us to a wonderful little program that happened to be located just two blocks from Ben’s elementary school; at the Ashland Arts and Activities Center.  It was run by Lauren Thompson and Susan Tucker and had everything we were looking for; most importantly people who genuinely cared about our little boy.   We felt very lucky to find everything we needed within a few blocks in this quaint little town…that is with the exception of an apartment.  However, this problem was also eventually solved and by Thanksgiving we were settled in a small two bedroom apartment not far from Ashland.  This was quite an adjustment after spending almost five years in a house which was in excess of three thousand square feet.  Little did we know but our discomfort in the apartment would be magnified in the coming weeks…