Month: May 2012

for those of you that know me, this will come as a shock, i’m sure, but i cried like a big ‘ol baby during first grade graduation. you would have thought he was graduating from high school or harvard the way i carried on. it’s not that i’m sad to see the eldest leave first grade behind, it’s a two-fold issue for me. first, east avenue primary has been such a wonderful, caring place for my sweet, smart, gifted, talented, amazing, challenging boy to be. this year, we sought his AS diagnosis after thinking long and hard about it. e.a. has been amazing helping joe without hindering him…letting joe help himself. his teachers have cared for him when i couldn’t be there. they have supported him through meltdowns, achievements, not being able to eat in the cafeteria, helping him work with his friends and the list goes on. he has been at peace there. now we are on to another school at GISD and i am hopeful it will be as rewarding an experience, but how can i leave e.a. and all the wonderful women (and coach) without shedding a tear or two. they all knew his name (even with 600 plus other kids there). they all took the time to really see him. i feel the love those special and amazing people have for children everytime i walk in the door. mrs. blundell, his first grade teacher was the perfect teacher for him. i have to admit, i was worried when i first met her. she seemed so, well, nice. she is nice. she is firm. she is fair. she is loving. she didn’t let joe get to her, she just loved him and helped him thrive. the second issue for me is time. my wise grandmother has always said, “the days are long, but the years are short.” so true. where oh where are the years going? it seems as if we just brought home this tiny little thing wrapped in his swaddling blanket, with his wide smile, smart eyes (i know, we all think our children are geniuses, but you could just tell by looking at this tiny babe and tell he was working things out in his brain already) and undeniable sweet spirit. now, here we are 7 1/2 years later. with a crazy smart kid, who by friday was already asking when he could start learning this summer, who loves his brother and family. how did we get so lucky? i know the next 7 1/2 years will fly by even faster, but in so many ways i’m not ready. it’s not that i fear my children can’t handle it. it’s that i’m not ready. i love our long cuddles, our summer nights of playing and watching documentaries, our vacations, our simple yet not so simple life. again, how did we get so lucky?

my sweet baby boy is officially a kindergartener (sort of). he graduated preschool today. i know. a lot of you are thinking: what?!? they let kids GRADUATE from preschool. well, yes. yes they do. it was an awesome commencement ceremony in which my child was the loudest (and of course cutest) singer in the room. i hope that he never realizes that he could have had a microphone…he doesn’t need one! i found his class picture from when he was in the two year old class and it’s hard to believe that picture is of the same child. he looks like such a baby in the picture. how could i have sent him to school???? now, at five and ready for summer break i don’t know if i’m ready for him to be in kindergarten. he says, “two days a week is not enough school, but five? that’s gonna be too much.” cheech is so smart and funny. apparently, all the moms and dad’s in his class know his full name…their kids say, “hey Chet Thomas Gold did (fill in the blank) today.” people flock to him. how could they not? look at those eyelashes, would ya? look at the fun mischief in those eyes. who wouldn’t want to be around that? his kindergarten teacher may disagree, but i think the fun is just begining…

Were so beyond good today! I am thankful. I am thankful for so many things in my life. I need to take more time to stop and look at the positives. I followed my gut today and went to an appointment for the eldest child that I was tempted to cancel. On so many levels I’m glad I didn’t. He had x-rays of his teeth today to see where we are in terms of palate expansion. I went to our orthodontist Joe has seen since he was two weeks old. The first reason I’m lucky in this situation is, I got to see the evolution of my son in photographs via the orthodontist. Secondly, because of number one, I was reminded that history and relationships matter…even with an orthodontist office. Perhaps most importantly, it turns out the six year molars one guy said weren’t ready to put brackets on are stuck. if we hadn’t gone for extensive exam and panoramic x-rays today, we wouldn’t have known. I know eventually I’ll dread what has to come next. For now, I’m grateful.

and we’re off…to San Antonio for a team meeting. I’m particularly anxious about this appointment; it begins with Joe seeing all the doctor’s on the cleft team, then a round table meeting to discuss their treatment plan. I’m in love with this idea. It’s become increasingly difficult to “quarterback” the care in regards to his cleft lip and palate. We are about ready to begin palate expansion, which is the first step in bone graft surgery. This seemed like we had a lot of time still, but we don’t. It has to be planned “just right.” I want bone graft surgery around Christmas that way his 3month liquid/soft diet and no pe/swimming/rough play doesn’t come right at summer time….so, today, we go. we meet. we greet. we decide.