When I started this blog 10 years ago, I wanted so much for people I knew in town to get to know Coleman a little better, to see him as the wonderful boy that he was, and not as a child to look away from or feel uncomfortable around. And through the years, I think a whole lotta folks learned about not just Coleman, but lots of kids like him. And that makes me immensely happy.
Over the same time, I have expressed frequently the
loneliness of autism. The isolation that
so much of this population faces is simply awful. I wrote here specifically
about one day that was really difficult, and it was on that day, six years ago,
that the idea of doing something big was planted.
Over the past two years, Coleman flourished with his new
school peers, sharing in multiple joyous outings with them. We also learned more about aging out of
school at 22 and what life might look like after that time for my boy. Both of these things fanned the flames of
wanting to do something more for this population. We started talking and thinking and looking. We talked ourselves into and out of ideas weekly. As our vision narrowed, we visited one
particular property multiple times, thinking how we could transform the place
into the idea in our heads. We ultimately
passed on the opportunity, convinced that timing was wrong, that we needed to
get the girls through college first. Really,
though, we were nervous, feeling way over our tips about venturing into
something we knew very little about in terms of execution. Let someone else do it, we thought. Someone who knows what they’re doing. And
there was some relief when we said no. So
we took that as a sign. But sitting
snugly next to relief was regret, as we learned a few months later that the property
went under agreement. “It’s fate” we
thought.
Many months later, the property came back on the market. “We are not going back down that path” we
agreed. But on a solo visit to see Emma
in Vermont a few weeks later, I had a lot of time alone in the car to think. And that is never good. 😊 I
called Billy. “You’re going to kill me
but I think we should buy the property”.
And as fate would have it, Billy was thinking the exact same thing and had
already called the broker to set up another visit. We went when I returned from Vermont, walking
through the barn, house and around the land for the umpteenth time – trying to
envision what the place could be, and not what it was – which was an almost 400
year old farmhouse on almost 5 acres. Silently
we stared at different areas, nodding as we went, yes, this could really
work. It could be amazing. And we did what we do best – acted with our
hearts and perhaps not our heads - and bought this run-down, neglected, ancient
beautiful property.
We have an enormous amount of work ahead of us. Our plan is to create an enrichment center
for kids and young adults with special needs.
We have great hopes and plans – creating a community within a community,
a social club with yoga, a gym, music, art, cooking, basketball and tennis,
outdoor games and movies and so much more.
Billy and I have a notebook full of ideas. And we are just going with it. Figuring it out as we go and leading with
our hearts. I have no doubt it will be
amazing.
We will need help. A
lot of it. And I know many of you will
be there, working with us to transform this shared dream into a reality. It will be the greatest labor of love we will
know, and it will be worth every droplet of sweat and every tear we shed. We look forward to sharing our journey with
all of you. It’s going to be Epic.
Thank you for reading again this year.
Birds Nest Catching.
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