Summer is definitely winding down and as usual, we are winding up.
Lucas turns 6 on Friday.
6.
I can't believe it.
After six years on this journey with Lucas, I have to admit...everyone was right about one thing...Having this child irrevocably changed our lives.
Just about everything else however, they were stunningly wrong.
Lucas's sixth birthday marks 4 years without an illness. I can't believe I instinctively know how to keep him healthy and how it also applies to my other children as well. I can't believe he's never had an ear infection, never had antibiotics, and has never been constipated. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that on the day of his birth.
Lucas's sixth birthday marks the start of his formal school years. I can't believe I not only feel confident enough to homeschool him, but that any other option feels horribly wrong. I can't believe that his IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan) spans grades 1-3 and I am putting lessons plans together for things I wasn't sure he'd ever be able to learn on the day of his birth.
I can't believe he can read. Not Cat in the Hat, or Go Dog Go, but magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and text books. Every time he he reads to me I feel empowered, and a bit humbled. His reading also brings challenges - as Noah said the day the above photo was taken - "Lucas's reading is really becoming a problem!" We were trying to walk around the fair and ended up chasing Lucas all over creation because he saw a sign for a train exhibit, or ice-cream (I know dairy is a no-no, but how on earth could I refuse his request for Panda Paws with peanut butter swirl???)
And on that same note, I can't believe we were at the fair all day long and at 9:45pm we were still chasing him. (We really have to work on slow down and stay with me!) On our way out he pointed and said said "Look Mom, Boxall's I Got It!" Yep, he got it.
I really can't believe that this journey felt so lonely on day one and six years later has brought women into my life from around the globe that feel like family. Our facebook group is growing steadily and I find myself going there first thing in the morning to check in with everyone, and last thing at night to see how everyone's day went...what kiddo achieved what, and what new ideas these brilliant women had.
I can't believe I'm not jealous of other children's accomplishments, rather - I look at them as a to do list.
I can't believe I don't ask "what if" any more, I only ask "how." I guess that's because we've never not found the "How" yet.
I can't believe Lucas is the son that looks most like his daddy (and a lucky daddy he is!)...
or that he would have such an amazing relationship with Noah who is six years older...
I can believe however, that Ryan would be the one to teach him all sorts of "fun" things...
like "mom doesn't really mean it when she says don't play with her phone."
I can't believe six years has changed pretty much everything I learned and believed to be true about therapy, interventions, education and medicine.
And lastly, I can't believe I am lucky enough to be this little boy's mother and that I would be so much less if he was never given to me. I personally still have a looong way to go, but just the other day I read something that further convinced me to stay the course..
The first graduate from the University of Kentucky with T21 was interviewed.
She didn't credit a pill, or a therapy, or a single intervention as the key to her success (although she did say she grew up taking vitamins to provide her with the things her body needed).
She stated (as has Karen Gaffney and many other adults with T21 that the world looks at as "outliers") that the keys were:
- Learning to read very early
-Having parents who taught her and kept her out of activities that didn't encourage her to achieve and excell
This is good news indeed, and I can believe it.
Happy Birthday Lucas!
I can't wait to see what unbelievable things this year will bring!
