Bragging Rights

I have been contemplating posting an update from our Parent Teacher conferences with Brody’s teacher this past week. I have been constantly going back and forth in my mind on how to do so without being “that Mom”. But we share the journey of our family with the world that consists of the good, the bad and the ugly. We celebrate the smallest victories and most difficult times. We do this in hopes to educate others about Autism and also to spread a sense of understanding to those walking this path who feel alone.Brody’s been in Kindergarten for 2 months now. To say Brody loves school would be the understatement of the century. Brody absolutely adores every aspect of his school days. And a year ago at this time I was absolutely worried sick at the thought of Brody entering Kindergarten 2 months after turning 5. In our heads we had always said that we would wait and send him when he was 6. As always God always has different plan then the one you envision in your head. After Brody’s IEP meeting last year, it came to our attention that Brody would basically be forced to go when he turned 5 because he was technically eligible. I was sick, disgusted and could not stop stressing about it. A year ago Brody was NO WHERE near ready in all areas. He was so young and I just couldn’t even fathom the idea of it happening. I felt as though we were setting him up for failure before he even stepped foot in the school. I knew in my heart, at that time, it wasn’t right. I remember obsessing over thoughts for weeks. Brainstorming different ideas of what we could do in place of him going to Kindergarten. I also knew that all of those options most likely put him at risk of putting him into potentially blind hands that may not be equipped to offer him what he needed. Going to Kindergarten ensures he receives services in place that would be continued.I reached out to my Kindergarten teacher in hopes of getting advice and wisdom as she is literally one of the best humans in this world. Not only is she an amazing human but she is a phenomenal Kindergarten teacher. If I respect anyone’s opinion or advice, this is the lady that means the most to me. After hearing her advice to send Brody on to Kindergarten for a multitude of reasons, I had started to wrap my mind around the fact that this whole thing was most likely going to go down. Brody was going to Kindergarten in Fall of 17’. My first born baby who’s been home with me from day 1, minus 3 months where I finished my job as a Para while Brett finished College. Reality was settling and I had to get on board with this new plan.Fast forward to this past week as Brody has now been in Kindergarten for 2 months. 2 months of growth, maturity and a sense of new and learned independence. I’ll tell you this much, we knew going into the conference that Brody was doing well academically. But to hear he was doing 1st grade level academics in all areas was slightly mind blowing to us. He’s breezed through all of his Kindergarten academic goals. And it’s only October! 😳 He is still working on areas of focusing, following multi-step directions and expressing his needs and wants. But he is absolutely rocking it and having NO behavior concerns, meltdowns or major fixations on certain things. I can’t even begin to tell you how that felt. Like seriously, no words. Just tears. Lots and lots of thankful and happy tears.The amount of work that he has put in to get to this point is mind blowing. The road getting to this place has been hard. It’s been full of blood, sweat and lots of tears. Explosive meltdowns and watching a little person you love with every ounce of your being experiencing frustrations on a level that’s not really able to be summarized in words. Losing myself daily and wondering what the hell I was doing? Wondering when this would ever end as we were dealing with the repercussions of Peyton’s medical needs as well as maintaining those needs. Brody was in the throws of the worst and most frustrating behaviors that he’s ever experienced. Those were times I would never ever wish to go back and re-live. But those are also times that keep us humbled and so very thankful as he deserves every ounce of praise. He absolutely deserves this type of a post.So as I’ve pondered all week and went back and forth with sharing this huge success, I had a “aha” moment yesterday. A moment where I decided that I was gonna brag on Brody and his extremely well report. I was gonna toot his horn and shout it from the rooftops! I was gonna do all of those things and be “that Mom” because this is the first time I’ve ever gotten to be “that Mom”. This is the first thing in Brody’s life that has ever been easy for him. And I’m not even sure “easy” would be the correct description. So maybe more of a “natural approach”. This is the first time he hasn’t had to practice for hours to get to an “ok” place. But as I said earlier, this didn’t come without previous work. He HAS worked hard and not in just 2 months but this has been YEARS in the making.I’ve never been so glad that I was wrong a year ago. Gosh I was SO wrong! I couldn’t see any of this a year ago. All I could see was the abrupt changes in my plan that I had always had painted in my head. All I could see at that time is my little boy who was still struggling with so many aspects of preschool. I’m so very glad I was wrong. I’m so glad that once again God’s plan was greater than the one I had in my head. ❤️