I have been meaning to write this since last Friday but the awesome keeps happening so I haven't taken a moment to slow down and get my thoughts out via blog.
Last Friday I had a terrible meeting at school regarding Larry that ended really well. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense but I can't think of a better way to say it. My sons teacher is beyond amazing. She is also pregnant and has a large class of 3rd graders to deal with and yet she still makes time to make accommodations for my son regarding his health, his behavior and his academic struggles. Without her I don't know what we'd do or how we would handle our current situation. At the terrible meeting when I cried in front of everyone and had trouble finding my voice to speak up for my son she handled it. She wouldn't take no for an answer and awed me with the way she advocated for my son as well as speaking up for herself.
As if all this wasn't enough to nominate her for sainthood she pulled me in yesterday after school to let me know that Larry had made some huge gains this week. Too often we get too busy and overwhelmed with the daily craziness and the bad stuff that has to be handled in the education system. As a result we rarely get the chance to tell parents what their kid is doing right. Not at my kids school. I get to hear the good, the bad and the completely weird on a regular basis :)
Last Friday I also got the chance to catch up with a mom friend. She came by with her two little ones and we took a walk to the park. At one point in my life I had lots of mom friends and we were constantly swapping stories, sharing ideas and commiserating. Since my kids have started school the numbers have dwindled and I don't get to have "mom talk" nearly as often as my soul needs. This particular friend is also one that I admire and feel I can be 100% honest around without fear of hurting her feelings. She knows who she is and feels things strongly but is amazingly open to others thoughts and opinions, this combo makes for great conversations. I left that play date feeling renewed and refreshed as a parent.
Now for the weekend. At the last second my husband convinced us all to attend a street fair called fourth Friday. We ended up having a great family night with yummy food and tons of fun activities for the kids. They all smiled so much their faces must have been hurting by the end of the night. My mother in law got to come too and that made it extra special since she left for a long long trip this week. You have to squeeze in that quality time whenever you can right?
Saturday came along and we went to a BBQ to see my husbands cousins that were visiting. I still get tears just thinking about this night. All was going well until we sat down to eat. One cousin had brought their fiancé and he was telling us about himself. As he began to explain his allergies etc... We realized he had a lot in common with Larry. We started comparing and as we did Larry got quieter and quieter and acted very uncomfortable. Dinner ended and I realized he was upset about us talking about some of the things that make him "special" in front of everyone. I gave him the opportunity to go inside and be by himself which he gratefully accepted. The fiancé heard me talking to him and went inside to find him after a little bit. I went to check in on him and found the fiancé talking to my son about how hard it was to grow up "special." He shared funny stories of allergic reactions and asthma attacks and then explained all the stuff he can do and how he handles it all as an adult. As the Fiancé talked I watched my sons shoulders relax and then I saw his eyes get a little sparkle back and finally I saw his whole body look at ease as he listened intently. We still have a lot to figure out with Larry but that night gave him something he sorely needed, commiseration and understanding, a feeling that he was okay.
Sunday brought my husband playing cards with my sons for hours. Life doesn't get much better than when I get to watch my husband interact with our sons. Watching him teach them and watching their confidence and joy soar as they try to beat him at a game. As a bonus this also means I can take a nap or a bath or paint my nails, do something to focus on myself for a little bit. I also got to go to the movies with my husband late that afternoon. Dates with him are awesome. It really doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as its together its good. Some of our best dates have been the two of us running errands together. Of course it doesn't hurt that I planned this date, organized the childcare and picked a movie that he really wanted to see that I didn't care about. I'm pretty sure it gave me like a 1000 bonus points.
This week has been tough but good. I reaffirmed to myself that I am very good at my job. Sometimes things stack up and I lose focus and get stressed but this week I kept my head on straight and got a lot accomplished without stressing myself out.
Homework time is always a struggle for at least one of my 3 wunderkind. This week I tackled it head on and had way more patience than usual. I don't think I could do this all the time but this week homework time was a breeze and we handled all the stresses that came with it. We tried out a new system for one of my sons. It required waaaaaaay more work for me but I could see the difference in his behavior and in his final product so I deem it worth it.
I made it to the gym 3 times! I have an amazing friend who goes to the gym with me twice a week. We meet up and talk while we walk on the treadmills. I love this time and love my friend but between our kids and life getting in the way we have to cancel on each other a lot. I could really feel the difference mentally and physically when we got back on schedule. This friend is the worlds best listener and anyone who knows me knows that I can talk all day without getting tired so we are a perfect match. Don't worry, I listen to her sometimes too.
This post is getting ridiculously long so I'll sum the rest up in one paragraph. My sons had a great tennis practice and I called the police on some grandparents that were fighting at the park. We had our friends over to our very messy house all day Wednesday and I didn't let the mess ruin everything and instead made the choice to enjoy our time together. I bought a maternity pillow so I'm finally able to sleep soundly and I discovered the many magical qualities of the 20 minute nap. Finally,my husband looked over at me watching tv the other night and commented on how happy I looked. It instantly made me wonder how grumpy I normally look but then I just got to sit back and enjoy that my husband notices things like that and that I have so many reasons in my life to look happy.
See. A whole lot of awesomeness going on.
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