Such a Slacker

It's been a whole year since I've posted.  I'm not sure if it's because I've been slackingly lazy or if it's just because I have no time....maybe what little time I do have, I want to take a bubble bath or watch tv, not type about my day.  Regardless, it doesn't matter.  Too often moms 'beat' themselves up about what they don't get accomplished instead of what they DID accomplish.

So, for the last year, what did I accomplish?  Hmmm, that might take a minute but I have to say it's not just me that accomplished it, it was my whole family and of course the Big Guy upstairs (Hi God!).  Looking back over the last year, I see that I was accepted to a local college into their Teacher Education Program and survived my first year in a college with nothing but girls.  Did I mention that a majority of them were 10 years younger?  That's a whole new post all in it's own!  We took Benjamin for his first zoo trip to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden....it's where I grew up and I wouldn't have taken him anywhere else.  He also went to the circus for the first time, hit a huge growth spurt....I'm talking about 3.5 inches in less than 6 months.....

Oh!  Probably the biggest accomplishment was that Benjamin has 'graduated' from speech therapy.  Our speech pathologist gave our son a roar to speak with.  If you have ever dealt with a speech delay/impairment, then you know how frustrating one. single. question. can be.  We couldn't even communication basic needs for him and I got so frustrated, not with him, with me because I'm Super Mom and I understand everything.  Benjamin is now at the cusp of succeeding without any other intervention or severely regressing but I am confident that August 11th brings us a whole new light on the 'situation' at hand.

So what's August 11th?  PRESCHOOL!!!  Benjamin doesn't really have a concept of what it does but he knows that peeschool (as he calls it) is on the same property as Sunny School (Sunday School) and Bible School (VBS).   We are sending him to our church's preschool where I am so blessed to be sending him.  I'm on the board for the preschool and this past year we hired an amazing director.  Sitting in the interview my heart just screamed HIRE HER.  I knew that her vision for what preschool should be was the exact thing that Benjamin needed.  Even our pediatrician said to get him into preschool...asap. 

Benjamin has become the typical boy.  Now in some ways I hate saying that because there is a very negative sterotype about boys out there.  They are all gross, messy, wild, loud, bouncing off the walls, exceptionally rough, stinky, and the list goes on.  And yes, my son is all of those things but let me also add that he is so compassionate, loves to be affirmed, aware of others feelings, sees life through positive eyes, makes friends wherever he goes, he's not intimidated by others, especially older boys, he finds life, loves his PopPop and his Sadie Bugs (our dog), and he touches my heart like no one else ever will. 

I will always remember the day at the local water park where in one part of it, is the spray yard where the water comes shooting out of the ground and out of pipes. Benjamin learned to love this thing this year and it's also where the older boys hang out.  One time, some older boys were standing over one of the stronger sprays coming out of the ground and they were taking their turn standing over the pipe and making the water come out of their shorts in every possible direction.  Benjamin just walked right on over and much to my surprise, the older boys helped him stand on top of it and showed him what to do.  That right there is the essence of boys.  They don't care about age, how you talk, or what you wear.  They just want to have fun.  Those boys could have shoved him away or have been rude but they weren't, they took him like a younger brother and showed him what boys do.  That has made my summer!