....at the awards ceremony.
I don't often speak about my eldest on here. A combination of reasons I think - you may be aware he has special needs and I feel uncomfortable talking about those in this space. Perhaps surprising as I am prepared to share every other tiny detail (!), but this has always seemed, well, sort of separate. He is also a good reader and I would hate him to read something on here without my knowing that he may misunderstand.
Until this evening. Because to be honest I am feeling rather proud.
So proud I could burst.
You see he won 4 awards last night at his schools annual celebration evening. I won't bore you with what they were for - but they weren't the token litter picking or handwriting awards.
When you have a child who is different you begin a journey, perhaps one you never imagined you would find yourself on. And on that journey along with a whole heap of worry, some remarkable things can happen, and emotions you may not experience in the normal parenting realm are there. And tonight I am experiencing one of those....imagine feeling your average parenting pride but ten fold.
It feels amazing.
And he is amazing. He still has lots to teach me I think.
Brilliant news. No wonder you are as proud as Punch. Very well done, Eldest.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you and your son! Good for you for sharing your joy in this space...we can then celebrate with you :)
ReplyDeleteWell done Eldest!! Have you ever heard of something called Welcome To Holland? It is about raising a child with special needs. I have copied it out below..
ReplyDeleteWELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Amen! Go glad you got one of those really good days.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for your lovely comments.
ReplyDeleteFT - yes I had heard of the Welcome to Holland passage and discovered it a few years ago. I think it's something that has stayed with me and perhaps even was in the back of my mind when I was posting about the 'journey I never imagined finding myself on.' Thanks for reminding me of this - have just read through and it really fits the bill at the moment!