seriously, so blessed. no, seriously.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers? I have. This week especially I have been blown to the ground. Twice. By people I have never even met (but certainly hope to someday).

First there was Heather, who, through a mutual friend, learned about my efforts to help Garrett with his speech delay. Her son has verbal apraxia, and she is no stranger to the challenges that come with a child who struggles to communicate. In the beginning she offered some kind words and a willingness to answer any questions. And then she mailed me their entire Signing Time collection. That's 26 DVDs! She told me they didn't use or need them anymore, and that it would make her happy to pay it forward to someone else who could benefit. Garrett and I have been watching them and learning some basic signs together. It's too early to tell just how much it will help with his ability to communicate, but I have to say it is a wee bit thrilling to watch him and his fingers follow along.

And then there's Desmama, who's blog I stumbled across years ago and have been reading ever since. In that sense, she's not a true stranger, but on the other hand, we have yet to meet in person. (I did, however, recently learn the actual name hiding behind her online pseudonym.) Her daughter went through speech therapy when she was young, and throughout the course of the sessions Desmama was given a stack of handouts full of ideas to help her speech progress at home. Without thinking twice, she photocopied the stack, which she found to be very helpful, and mailed them to me.

So this week, practically out of the blue, I have received two incredible packages in the mail from kind, thoughtful, completely selfless people. To say that I feel blessed would be a gross understatement.

Of course, it is not only strangers who have been offering truckloads of love and support. Joyce, my mother-in-law, who has had more than her share of sending her children to speech therapy and working tirelessly with (and sometimes against) "the system" to get them the help they needed, has called to offer support and advice. My own mother, in addition to also lending a listening ear, just the other day did a bit of research and found two good books on the subject of childhood speech problems, the information for which she passed along to me. I not only looked into them, but I ordered myself a copy of each one.

And then there is all of you. You, who have left such kind, supportive comments. You, who have shared your own similar experiences and empathized with me on various levels. Do you realize how amazing you are? I count myself lucky to run in the same circle, even if that circle is only a virtual one. Thank you, each of you, for being the very definition of a good friend.

As far as our case with Early Intervention goes, it has officially been closed (or will be as soon as I receive, sign, and mail back the document stating as much). But, at the suggestion of my service coordinator, I will be re-opening it in a few weeks to get Garrett evaluated a second time for a second opinion. I have several reasons to believe that this will be worth my time and energy. We'll see what happens. If it doesn't work out, he should definitely qualify for services through the school system once he turns 3, and in the meantime, I've got some excellent resources now to help him at home.