MASON GRAUDATES PRIVATE THERAPY ON OCTOBER 27!!!!!!
THIS OCTOBER 27, 2014!!!!!!
12 DAYS!!!!!!
I KNOW I AM YELLING!!!!!!
BUT SOME THINGS ARE JUST WORTH YELLING!!!!!!
And everybody everywhere said, "Amen!"
So look. Here's the deal. Am I excited? YES! That is an understatement. But I am honestly so worn out by the emotion of it all that I don't even feel it right now. It's just surreal. I don't believe it. I mean, I do. But I don't. I just can't believe that day is finally almost here!
I went to lunch with a dear friend yesterday. She asked me, as so many do, how we came to find out that Mason is dyslexic. So I shared an abbreviated version of our story. I say abbreviated. It was a long story, and yet I didn't even tell her all the details of it. I told her that by the time 2nd grade came, there were some dark days. I was in a tunnel, and I couldn't even see a flicker of light at the end of it. It was exactly two years ago this month that we finally figured out why Mason was struggling so much to read. At that time, not only did I not see even a flicker of light, but I also thought I would NEVER see that flicker. That was exactly two years ago this month.
And then a year later . . . October one year ago . . . I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it wasn't just flickering. It was shining bright. There were still long, hard days. But then something happened. It took two long years of hard work. This past May, I felt like I was beginning to walk out of that tunnel. Well, maybe crawling by this point! Of course, Mason was flying.
But now I'm standing on the OUTSIDE of that tunnel with my face upturned toward the bright, shining, comforting warmth of the sun's rays.
When Mason's Speech Therapist saw his report card on Monday, she immediately had a conversation with me about him graduating at the end of the month. She asked me if I was okay with that. I told her that I'd finally gotten to a place of being okay with it and even more than okay. Sure, it's a little scary thinking we'll be doing this without the support and expertise of our beloved Ms. Kim. But one of my goals for Mason this 4th grade year was that he would begin to manage this thing on his own. And he is! I told her that I was ready, that I felt certain Mason was ready but that I would only make a decision based on her recommendation. So she said we would finish out the month, and his last day at speech therapy will be October 27.
That was great. That was really great! But there were still two afternoons a week of Educational Therapy. And I wasn't sure what his Educational Therapist would recommend. I didn't even ask her on Monday. I was hoping she would bring it up, but she did not. And then today we went back. Again, I was not going to say anything. But I didn't have to. Mrs. Sandy told me that she knew he would graduate Speech Therapy on October 27 and asked how I felt about him also graduating Educational Therapy that day, too. I told her the same thing I'd told Ms. Kim on Monday. I was ready. He was ready.
And then you already know what happened next. I cried.
I really love one of the things Mrs. Sandy told me today. She said there will ALWAYS be things that we need to work on; however, she feels like more time at home in the afternoons, more time to spend on homework and even play outside a bit, less time in the truck traveling back and forth to therapy and fighting traffic is much more beneficial to Mason than continuing in Educational Therapy at this point. He is doing it. He really is doing it! And it's time. He met and exceeded all of the goals set for him the year and a half ago that we began this adventure of private therapy and remediation.
And that's just it. It will never be perfect. And it will never be "fixed" or "healed." But it's not about perfection (and this from a recovering perfectionist). It's about excellence . . . doing it with excellence. That's what Mason is doing! He is no longer two grade levels behind in reading. He is ON grade level. And he is doing it with excellence.
So as soon as we got in the truck to leave, I asked Mason what he thought about being finished with EVERYTHING.
Mason: Yeah, cause I'm bombing reading now!
Me (going from sheer elation to sheer panic in 0.1 second. Because what happened at school today that he didn't tell me?): WHAT??!!??
Mason: I'm bombing reading!
Me: Wait . . . you mean you're DA BOMB in reading?!
Mason: Yeah. That's it.
Me (sigh of relief): Yes. Yes, you are. Da bomb.