Before the end of the school year, I signed Kay up for ESY (Extended School Year). This program runs from the end of June to the end of July, differing slightly from her usual Monday-to-Thursday Pre-K schedule by running Monday through Friday, but maintaining the same duration of two hours and thirty minutes.
Kay loves school and has thrived since starting in January this year, just after turning three. Even though school has been out for a while, she still occasionally looks for her backpack and eagerly exclaims, “school!”
Given the recent developments, I informed her school that Kay won’t be attending ESY this time but will return when school resumes in August. Despite knowing how much she would enjoy ESY, it’s best for her to sit it out this summer. Kay’s diabetes diagnosis was unexpected, and we still have a lot to learn. I’m hoping to use these next few months to gather all the knowledge I can so I can confidently and safely send Kay back to school in August.
Things will undoubtedly look different for Kay now, as they already do for all of us. However, I know how resilient she is and has been from the very beginning. We’ll all be fine—we just need to adapt and move forward.