4 students from Blake’s class are graduating from 6th
grade tomorrow. 2 of them I’ve known since
Blake started his autism preschool program back when he was 3. One of the mommas I knew before she had her
second, third, fourth and FIFTH child.
She is an incredible woman / philanthropist / style maven/ superstar
with a huge heart. The other momma and I
bonded through autism parenting classes together, and at a time we were so
close, her son thought Blake and Olivia were his cousins. From the sidelines, I’ve watched these kids grow. From tiny toddler tots to now pre-teens, we’ve
all checked in over the years; shorthand rattling off things that work, things
that don’t, and gnarly stories only autism moms would “get’’- then laugh-- and then
cry over. I’m so weepy when I think of
these kiddos graduating.
When I think of them, standing up on a stage to mark their
progress, I think of how far they’ve come and how many hands had a part in the
process. How many teachers, specialists,
doctors, administrators (good and bad), crossing guards, therapists (OT, PT, Music,
Speech, ABA, etc. etc.), family members, friends, or even babysitters helped to
shape the kids that graduate tomorrow? I
think of myself, and how many hours I’ve spend over the years; crying in the bathroom,
praying to the ceiling in the middle of the night, banging my head against the wall,
wiping the tears away in my car to slap on a smile and collect my precious
kiddo from his day at school. Countless
hours. So much time and heart and prayer
and effort spent to get to where these guys are tomorrow. The road has been tough. It has had some wrong turns for us, I am positive
I’ve made a ton of mistakes with my kiddo. But when I see these friends, and
think of them today, I am tearful with pride for my fellow mommas and dads and “Teams”. Because this milestone didn’t just
happen. We didn’t loose these kids or
give up or quit. We just kept trying to
do what we could with what we have. And
now, they’re where they are today because they didn’t quit and neither did we.
Cheers to the teams of all of the graduates tomorrow. Sending so much love and tons of
tissues. Victory lap for everyone!!!
XOXX Emily
