Here we are. In New Zealand. Finally. It's been an unsettled but wonderful year that started with our house in Arizona selling in a matter of weeks. We barely had time to prepare ourselves emotionally and it was sold! We moved into a small condominium to live out the school year. It was actually rather luxurious living with a few swimming pools, free lattes, a movie theatre and pool tables. Even so, I can't say that I was sad to leave condo life behind. As far as I am concerned, there isn't a lot to miss about Arizona except our friends and our wonderful therapists and habilitators. I am still very sad about saying good bye to them. And as for the States in general, I do miss my parents, and I would have liked to be there during the Presidential Election (although I voted absentee and celebrated with the world when the results were announced).
Kip, Reid & Quinn all handled the move pretty well (even the airplane flight). We lived with Richard's parents just outside of Auckland for a couple of months until we figured out where we wanted to settle. Richard's parents were amazing to make space and take us all in (noisy 6AM wake-ups and all). In looking around New Zealand for a place to settle, my main concern was that we found a school that would be supportive of Reid and Quinn. We found a small country school with a small special needs unit and a BIG HEART. Then we found a rental in the middle of sheep and cows in the town of Matakana and we settled in to country living. Matakana is the center of one of New Zealand's newer wine producing areas and is about 10 minutes away from some amazing beaches. We are all really enjoying the "outdoor" lifestyle that New Zealand allows.
Kip immediately made friends with an interesting collection of kids-from the computer geeks to the popular rugby players. He thinks that one of the best reasons to go to school in New Zealand is that shoe wear is optional. He goes to school with shoes and socks on, but comes home with grubby, grimy feet. I'd rather he wear shoes, but it's not a battle I'm prepared to fight. Besides, he's really just trying to fit in and I don't want to hinder that. Although some softball is played over here, baseball is not, so Kip had to choose another sport. He chose rugby. Well, touch rugby. He's been playing for a couple of months now, and got "Player of the Day" last week. (Honestly, I think all the kids are awarded this honour at least once during the season no matter how shockingly they play, but we were still proud.) Last weekend, Kip attended a 3-day camp for siblings of special needs kids. This is actually funded by the Ministry of Health who recognize that these kids need a break from their brothers and sisters and they need to bond with other kids who are going through the same thing. We were so proud of Kip as he didn't know anyone else who was going. He had a wonderful time-such a wonderful time that we are going to sign him up for a longer version in January. Although Kip still misses his buddies from the States, he is really enjoying becoming a Kiwi.
Reid has blossomed over the past six months. He's such a "normal" kid so much of the time. Recently he was examined by a public health doctor who asked me if "In my heart of hearts I believed that he has autism". I said that I did and he wanted to know why, so I explained a few things. It was nice to hear someone doubt the diagnosis, but when we climbed into the car and I put a CD in, Reid started saying, "The Pretenders CD has 16 tracks. Bruce Springsteen has 14. The Pogues has....." You get the idea. Yeah, he has autism, but he is doing remarkably well! His teacher here is absolutely wonderful (we have been remarkably lucky with all of the wonderful teachers he's had-you know who you are). She asked if she could keep him after school once a week to work on his story writing. I was blown away that she was willing to take this time with him and he thinks of it as a treat and not a punishment to stay after school. He loves school. He's picking up a slight accent which is adorable and he's started to ask if he can go "bare footing" like Kip.
Quinn is showing some signs of emerging from the fog. He still has difficulty with attention and hyperactivity, but he's talking so clearly so much of the time at home now. He loves playing outside, riding his bike (a skill he has recently acquired) and hanging out on the beach. School is not his favorite place to be, but he has the support of some really kind people and he's becoming more and more a part of the classroom. He still needs an aide to help him stay on task in the mainstream setting, but we are confident that in a year or so, he'll be on his own and flourishing. He has taught himself how to keyboard and is typing more and more complicated things into his google searches. So far, it's all benign stuff, but we are going to have to seriously limit his internet wanderings once his interest strays beyond Pixar movies. Quinn reminds me of me at this age as he is pretty much always ready to get in the car, even if it only means a trip to the grocery store.
Richard is still with Infor and he is still travelling quite a bit. He mostly travels to Austraila, but also to Singapore, Hong Kong, India (he was supposed to be in Mumbai during that last week of November-I'm so glad that trip fell through). He is also doing some volunteer consulting for an incubator company in Auckland. Richard is taking up wind surfing again. He has also joined the local squash club and has found a few challenging partners. If I had to pick his favorite hobby, however, I'd say it was mowing our overly expansive lawns. You should see the satisfaction he gets out of that task. I think that returning to New Zealand has been wonderful for him.
I have been working to figure out the educational, medical and disability systems in New Zealand. While the supports for Reid and Quinn are nowhere near as good as they are in the States, they do exist. However, they require lots of research and tenacity. After three applications (and denials) to the Ministry of Education, we were finally able to convince some assessors to come out and observe Quinn in the classroom. Less than two weeks after the observation, he was granted special ed services for life (well until he is 21). Whooo Hoooo. In September, the principal of our school offered me a job in the office. I was amazed because it's the job that I would have asked Santa for given the chance. Although the job won't make me rich, it's perfect for right now. It's part time, I get school holidays off and I get to meet lots of people.
My mom has been visiting for a couple of weeks. It's not going to be a long enough visit to do and see all I wanted, but it's been nice just to hang out. She's been really helpful with the kids and the house. AND, she has been helping us to pack up our belongings. Never having been the types to "under pack" our schedules, we have decided to buy a house just in time for Christmas. Yikes! We move in on the same day that my mom flys home and then go away to the beach house for a Christmas holiday three days later. (Going to the beach for Christmas feels a bit upside down, but I guess that's life Down Under.) After looking at property for about two years (the first year and a half from afar and the last 6 months in person and in earnest) we finally found something. (See the blog.) It's not what we expected by a long shot. It's not the quaint country cottage that we envisioned. It's a new, somewhat uninspired hulk of a house. But, it's got the space that we want both inside and out, and it has three toilets (I just can't explain how happy that makes me).
On that note, The Simpson Family would like to wish you a Wonderful Holiday Season, and a very Joy-Filled New Year. (Any may your toilets make you as happy as mine make me.)
Lots of love from
Karen, Richard, Kip, Reid and Quinn
PS: When can we expect you Yankees to come visit?!
Jet Boating the Dart River. Absolutely Awesome!!!
T.S.S. Earnslaw: We took a night time cruise over to Walter Peak Station (in the background) where we had dinner and a "sheep show".
Richard with Lake Wakatipu in the background.
Karen with Queenstown in the distance.
Jet boat on the Shotover River
Sappy picture of me in front of some more amazing mountains that I
Cuddly Valentines freezing their asses off just before getting
