Hi. I'm Happy.

Today I felt panicky about the upcoming school year and our plans to change Ben's school. We haven't been able to do a lot of preparation because staff have been off all summer and only come back next week. Ben and I will visit for the first time on Tuesday and school starts the following week.

I went outside to take a walk around Spiral Garden -- the outdoors camp run by practising artists at Holland Bloorview. It was empty, having finished yesterday, but the children's creativity was on full display.

I came upon a huge mound of earth that had been fashioned into a face. There was one eyelid in the centre of the face through which flowers were peeping, a long, pointed cloth nose that had been carefully stitched, and white and yellow wooden teeth pressed into a mouth. New shoots of grass were beginning to sprout out of the mound. Beside the creature was a bright green sign on which had been painted: "Hi. I'm happy."

It seemed like Ben was talking to me, because that is exactly how he sees himself. Despite his many challenges, he is happy and he wants others to know that he's happy. That made me think that whether the new school situation works out is irrelevant -- as long as Ben stays happy. If it works -- great. If it doesn't, we will find something else that works. As long as Ben is happy, that is all that matters.