The good ones.

For the past three years my son has had the same one on one aide, also known as a paraprofessional.

She has been the heart and soul that has supported and cared for my son while he was at school.

What started as a “new aide” in second grade ending up being one of the most beautiful relationships I have never seen between him and someone who is not family.

To be honest, now three years later, she feels like part of our family.

And that’s why this has been so incredibly difficult.

You see, she has been taking classes and we knew this day would come once she passed her test.

I think my husband and I were secretly hoping we’d have at least another year with her before we had to say goodbye.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things played out.

We are so excited for her and proud of her for pursuing her dreams.

And we know that she’s going to continue to do great things.

I hope the families who work with her in the future realize how special she is.

Because she truly is one of a kind.

As we move onto this next chapter and start looking for a new paraprofessional, we have to give ourselves time to grieve.

Our son is having a hard time understanding and is not able to express himself with words.

There’s a lot of extra hugs and many nights working through behaviors.

Thankfully, we can still talk to her on the phone and the sound of her voice brings him so much joy.

The transition period is hard.

The emotional tug on our hearts is heavy.

But I know we will get through this.

It’s just so hard saying goodbye.

Especially to the good ones.