Affirmation
As long as you stay open to it, the world has a way of bringing you just what you need, right when you need it.
All three of the kids and I were out shopping yesterday at the pet store (more on that later.) There was a woman who was looking at us curiously for a few minutes, who finally came up and asked SW his name. Her face lit up, and she reminded him who she was; his teacher from first grade. (She was the teacher in the regular classroom where he spent very, very little time those early years, so forgive us for not recognizing her either.)
She told us that she did not recognize him at first, because he had grown so tall. Not just because of that though. She was also amazed because he was talking!
I needed to hear that, to be reminded of just how far this boy has come in his life. She knew him as a little guy who never spoke a word in her presence through the entire first grade. The kid who couldn’t even tolerate short periods of time in the regular classroom with the normal level of noise and activity from a group of his peers. Yesterday she saw him in busy, crowded, noisy pet store having a conversation with a store clerk. And she is right, that is amazing. I sometimes forget because I’m with him every day and I see every baby step, so I sometimes forget to notice how far those steps have taken him.
So yes, I haven’t made such bad choices after all. We are broke, we don’t have lots of nice things, and sometimes we need a little help. But my being here has given my son the support he needed to work so hard and make such progress - and he’s not done yet. So what I have done is made the most correct and valuable choice in my entire life.
That’s really cool Tracy.
Comment by Allison | March 24, 2008