Jimmy at the art show...

(For the sake of vanity, I must mention that I was sick with a kidney infection and later had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they had me on. I was running a fever, which is why I look hot, sweaty, and absolutely hellish.)

Here is the story. Last Thursday, I show up to pick up Jimmy, only to run into the principal. (Yes, I was polite.) Turns out there is an art show that night. Jimmy obviously can't tell me, but it did make it in the last newsletter - I just don't get the usual reminders that parents get from their kids. Turns out Jimmy has a piece in it. I call Dad - Thursday is his late night at work, so he is completely deflated at missing it. My friend Diana, who was helping me with pick ups (okay, she helps me with EVERYTHING these days) had her camera in her purse. We race over to get Jacob and then turn around and head back to the school. There are a ton of people there, Jimmy is way overstimulated. He is alternately going limp and stimming up a storm. All we want to do is find this artwork, take a photo, and get going. We find it - it has his name on it, but no class.

Backtrack a few months to the fall. There is a big display of Cougar Elementary Pride, featuring the class of every single grade, except the two autism classes. I was crushed. It just felt like a huge slight, but when I asked the administration, they blamed the PTO. I let the resentment fester until the whole Rifton chair thing broke. Then I decided to address it. The only member of the PTO leadership who I could find a phone number for - that was the poor soul that got my call. He apologized for it, attributed it to the fact that Jimmy's class isn't considered a homeroom on the list they got from the school, and said he would address it with the group and get back to me. That was a month ago and I haven't heard anything. Last week, I e-mailed the president of the PTO. Not a word from her either. A few days later, I am at the school for this art show and there is no classroom name on my son's artwork. I have decided that the people over at Cougar are officially trying to will the autism classes out of existence and the kids in them are non-entities, not worthy of being proud of.

At least that's how I feel. I am waiting for someone at that school, anyone, to show me differently.

Oh, one more thing, the most important thing. He did really nice work on that. I am very proud of him.