Today we celebrated the end of another semester. This was a hard one, and I'm so very grateful for a break before the next one. As always at these celebrations, I was reminded of God's goodness to us. I was reminded of how incredibly proud I am of these three children the Lord has gifted to me. I was reminded that even in the midst of the hard (because I do not like hard), there is beauty. There were a lot of days I didn't see it; but it was on full display today.
Mason's class recited a section from Beowolf. Hannah Kate's class recited Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and In Flander's Fields by John McRae. Ellie's class recited Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.
Mason had an orthodontist appointment on Monday. That day had been marked on our calendar for six weeks because we thought that was the day the braces were coming off. That's what we'd been told at the last appointment. He's had braces for 17 months now and had metal in his mouth for two years before he got braces. So it's time. After the last couple of weeks, Monday seemed even more special because we finally had something to look forward to. We were going to have a win that day. Of course I was going to take a "before and after" so we stopped before we went inside for the "before."
But this picture is also the "after." When they called him back, I stayed in the waiting room with the girls. That lasted all of about two minutes. I couldn't wait to see his new smile. Hannah Kate tried to convince me to just wait instead of going to the back. She also said she felt like he wasn't getting the braces off. I'd never even considered that a possibility. And then I had a "feeling." You know what I mean. And that was it. I got up and went to the back to find Mason. As soon as I saw him, I knew. The wires were out, but the brackets were still on. He just looked at me and shook his head. That was a difficult moment. The orthodontist came over when he saw me standing there and explained that Mason's teeth are straight, and everything is aligned, but there is a small gap in his bite on the left side. So we came home with braces still and more rubber bands (but at least he no longer has to wear the one across the front that banded his top and bottom teeth closed each night). We'll try again next month. But, goodness, it sure was a bummer.
Tuesday afternoon Ellie and I were wrapping Christmas presents. Hannah Kate was at dance. Mason came in there with us after having spent some time studying for finals. He turned on the electric keyboard and started dancing. He amazes me. He truly does. He's been given a lot of reasons to bow his head, but I couldn't help but notice how he had his head held high. He was smiling and laughing and just enjoying the moment. He is brave. He is so brave. I'm not brave. I've been reminded again that it's pretty amazing what he's done. It goes unnoticed by nearly everyone else. But I know. Oh, how I KNOW.
Exactly two months ago today, I shared this post by Ann Voskamp on my Facebook page:
...sometimes the thing you never would choose for your life, chooses you for a reason. And the thing that you’d never pick? Picks you to become brave.
Discomfort is hard, especially when it comes to your children or things that involve your children. And I often times feel like I'm falling apart a whole lot more than I'm holding together. I don't know the plan God has for Mason's life (apart from the fact that it is good and to prosper him and full of hope), but I do know that it's an honor to have a front row seat to it. And I can't wait to see it continue to unfold. Because it's good. It is SO GOOD.
In the meantime, I am ready - we are both ready - for rest. And that's what these next two weeks are going to be for us. Rest. And celebration. More celebration.
I don't talk a whole lot about the reality of schooling for us (because I am not brave!), but on the rare occasions I do, the Lord always opens a door for me to talk to another mom who is beginning a journey similar to ours and has a lot of questions and doubts and fears - the same ones I did when our journey began - and I'm reminded of the good He is bringing in and through this. I've only shared parts of our story here, and I realized a few weeks ago that I've never gathered all of those posts in one place so I'm going to do that here.
The very first post sharing our struggles but before we knew Mason is dyslexic
The day I finally figured out Mason is dyslexic (it's not clearly stated; this post was simply a turning point that opened the door for answers)
The first time I shared about dyslexia and our struggles in schooling
Struggling through private therapy (ET, OT and SLP)
An update on Mason's progress after a year in private therapy
Graduation day from OT
Graduation day from all private therapy
There have been so many more victories - like reading The Odyssey and The Iliad, writing his first ever 5-page paper and earning a really good grade on it, successfully learning a foreign language, memorizing hundreds of lines of Scripture and literature passages (just to name a very small few) - so many victories, too many to list, that I've not captured here. Sometimes those victories are few and far between, and it seems like the battle is long. So long. We're still fighting. And we'll keep fighting.
In recent weeks I was ready to stop fighting. But when I sat there watching Mason dance across the music room, I realized that he hadn't stopped fighting. And won't. So neither will I. We'll keep doing it. Together. And THAT is winning!
Mason's class recited a section from Beowolf. Hannah Kate's class recited Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and In Flander's Fields by John McRae. Ellie's class recited Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.
Mason had an orthodontist appointment on Monday. That day had been marked on our calendar for six weeks because we thought that was the day the braces were coming off. That's what we'd been told at the last appointment. He's had braces for 17 months now and had metal in his mouth for two years before he got braces. So it's time. After the last couple of weeks, Monday seemed even more special because we finally had something to look forward to. We were going to have a win that day. Of course I was going to take a "before and after" so we stopped before we went inside for the "before."
Tuesday afternoon Ellie and I were wrapping Christmas presents. Hannah Kate was at dance. Mason came in there with us after having spent some time studying for finals. He turned on the electric keyboard and started dancing. He amazes me. He truly does. He's been given a lot of reasons to bow his head, but I couldn't help but notice how he had his head held high. He was smiling and laughing and just enjoying the moment. He is brave. He is so brave. I'm not brave. I've been reminded again that it's pretty amazing what he's done. It goes unnoticed by nearly everyone else. But I know. Oh, how I KNOW.
Exactly two months ago today, I shared this post by Ann Voskamp on my Facebook page:
...sometimes the thing you never would choose for your life, chooses you for a reason. And the thing that you’d never pick? Picks you to become brave.
And sometimes… you get what you need — by walking through what you never wanted -
and the thing you never wanted, may turn out to be be the thing you need most.
and the thing you never wanted, may turn out to be be the thing you need most.
I hadn’t known but now believe: the thing that may make you fall a bit apart, may be part of what one day holds you a bit together.
And I'm finding that the only way to the abundant life is to accept discomfort in your life. The way to what we want — is often through what we don’t want. Painfully hard things are part of the price of admission to a purposeful, holy life.
But always believe it: Grace can strike when you are in great pain and light you with the greatest hope.
So hang in there! "...we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, *not a day goes by without His unfolding grace.*" 2Cor4MSG
In the meantime, I am ready - we are both ready - for rest. And that's what these next two weeks are going to be for us. Rest. And celebration. More celebration.
I don't talk a whole lot about the reality of schooling for us (because I am not brave!), but on the rare occasions I do, the Lord always opens a door for me to talk to another mom who is beginning a journey similar to ours and has a lot of questions and doubts and fears - the same ones I did when our journey began - and I'm reminded of the good He is bringing in and through this. I've only shared parts of our story here, and I realized a few weeks ago that I've never gathered all of those posts in one place so I'm going to do that here.
The very first post sharing our struggles but before we knew Mason is dyslexic
The day I finally figured out Mason is dyslexic (it's not clearly stated; this post was simply a turning point that opened the door for answers)
The first time I shared about dyslexia and our struggles in schooling
Struggling through private therapy (ET, OT and SLP)
An update on Mason's progress after a year in private therapy
Graduation day from OT
Graduation day from all private therapy
There have been so many more victories - like reading The Odyssey and The Iliad, writing his first ever 5-page paper and earning a really good grade on it, successfully learning a foreign language, memorizing hundreds of lines of Scripture and literature passages (just to name a very small few) - so many victories, too many to list, that I've not captured here. Sometimes those victories are few and far between, and it seems like the battle is long. So long. We're still fighting. And we'll keep fighting.
In recent weeks I was ready to stop fighting. But when I sat there watching Mason dance across the music room, I realized that he hadn't stopped fighting. And won't. So neither will I. We'll keep doing it. Together. And THAT is winning!