Yesterday was Boeden’s birthday. I don’t know about you- but I find my kids’ birthdays exhausting. To add insult to injury, yesterday was also Boeden’s end of year school conference. I also had several large special orders, so I was spread thin, and quite frankly bracing for the worst.
I think I wrote a blog post about last years’ conference. We know Boeden has profound learning challenges, but at the end of last school year he had been at a school for children with his same learning profile for 4 consecutive years. When they shared his assessment scores with us, he had made no progress at all. I think in one area he had actually regressed. When they launched into “he is so polite and so kind” I actually started to cry. In front of the teachers. I was tired of being the nice, kind kid’s mom. He needed to learn to read and write. And count. We had him at the best school for his learning differences. We took him to so many therapists. I felt like I was trying my hardest- yet at the end of the day I stillI felt like I was failing him in some way. It was my job to set him up for success, and clearly, I was not.
So conference day loomed in my nightmares….and when I realized they were scheduled for his birthday, it felt like a double whammy. An inevitable sucker punch that I could not avoid.
Rather than bore you with the details of our conference, I will share that not only is he still “nice and kind”, but the kid can freaking read and write and count and is even at almost grade level in some areas. The progress was mind blowing. So once again, I cried. In front of the teachers. But tears of joy on my boy’s 11th birthday are kinda awesome!
And as if his progress were not enough, his amazing teachers shared his final writing project of the year which I have shared below. I often question if I am neglecting my kids by working. I left corporate life when Lil was 9 months old and being home with my kids has always been the greatest gift. But even though I am “home”- I am not nearly as present as I once was. The bakery takes a lot of time and energy. But when I read his paper, everything in the world felt right. The assignment was to “share something about your identity.”
I am so grateful this little bakery has become a part of my son’s identity! I am also so grateful for progress. Slow and steady wins the race. There are many days that the road ahead feels daunting….but today this mom is celebrating a small win! ♥️
