Great session - but I also got a 'taste of what's to come...'

Good news first - and then the 'sad news...'

Whew...we had a GREAT session today!! I was so surprised, too, because I had put Jason down for a nap around 3p and Megan, our SLP, was due at 530. I was relaxin' in the front room, not paying attention to the time, when I see her car coming down the street! Aw crap, he was still sleeping! So I went up, woke him up and he was just fine! In fact, I think he did better than he would've normally. I thought for sure he would've been crabby, non-cooperative, etc., but he was great.

He signed 'in' on his own (with no prompting!), signed 'candy,' said John Deere (again, it's more like "dee deeeee" but of course Mommy knows what that is!), said "go..." Lots of cool things. What she thought was 'really amazing' was when he was moving some toys around, he came across his brother's ("Buh buh") lightsaber - he held it and said "Buh BUH!" She thought that was great that he was 'assigning something that belongs to someone else."

Whew!! RELIEF!!!! But the hour went by so quickly - I really didn't want it to end, actually, because he was doing so well. But alas, she'll be here again tomorrow and the next day, and I betcha anything he'll be a crab-apple! Ha!! We've had some really good sessions where he just does so well (like today) and others where he's just rotten! Thank God today was a good one - you can't imagine how HAPPY I get and just wanna scream to the world "HE SAID DEE DEEEE TODAY!!"

Ok, so the 'sad news...' My friend/neighbor Amy watches kids and my boys have become friends with the kids. Today was the last day of a brother/sister, so we made cupcakes and walked down to play/talk. Amy had her little pool out, slip-n-slides, water guns - the works! All the kids had a great time! Well, this one girl, who's about 10 or so, said A COUPLE OF TIMES "I can't believe how he understands things!" and "I DIDN'T THINK HE UNDERSTANDS..." OMG, chick, he's not STUPID!!! I know she wasn't trying to be mean or anything (I know Amy has told the kids about Jason's 'situation'), but it just sort of bugged me that 'here we go with the comments, the stares, the looks, etc., etc.' Huh, the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. I hadn't really thought of it at the time, but now that I'm REALLY thinking about it...makes me even more scared for/of the future!!

Someone told me (I think it was someone on the 'windy city apraxia' board or it might've been my new friend Pattie - Hi Pattie!!) that it's great that Jake (the older boy) is talking and can be a good influence/example for Jason to talk, learn speech patterns, etc...I can only hope that Jake will be a good big brother and stick up for Jason, too. I think there's a book on the Apraxia-kids.org site "My Brother is Special..." Gotta get that for Jake. He's 7 and he knows about Jason's 'situation' (his tutor over the summer said how much he talked about his little brother and one of his journals was entitled "Why Isn't My Brother Talking?"), so maybe now is a good time to start talking to him about 'sticking up for Brother" and to tell people off (in a good way???) to lay off his brother...

I haven't told my husband yet about that little comment that little girl made. Knowing him, he wouldn't get too bent outta shape about it. Sure, he cares about Jason and loves him to pieces, but I just don't think he thinks about the 'future' like I do. I'm constantly thinking about 'what if he gets picked on?' 'what if he doesn't make any friends?' 'what if he doesn't do well in school?' I'm also really afraid of him being LABELLED. Because he has a speech delay, does that mean he's 'special?' I mean, HELL YEAH, he's SPECIAL to me and his family, but you know - SPECIAL??

And, I think if I told him about the comment and how much it got to me, he'd just tell me to "let it slide off my shoulder...no biggie. She's just a girl. What does she know?" I can hear him now. Maybe he's right - I have a child with a speech disability/delay and I guess I'm gonna have to develop a thick skin.

Well, I'm not a 'country music' fan by any means, but my friend Julie (who's trained for and ran in three triathalons in Naperville) told me about this song that she heard on the radio and that how, whenever she hears it, it brings tears to her eyes (I guess she relates it to her training). But it's by Miley Cyrus (ugh) and it's called "The Climb." I gotta find the lyrics and I'll post 'em here, but it's basically talking about how facing troubles, keeping on, keeping strong, pushing on. I downloaded it from iTunes (I'm sure my hubby's gonna be like, "What the...? MILEY CYRUS?!?! What'd you buy that crap for??" Can you get it, that my husband is a grouch? Ha!) and I've been listening to it.

Oh, another one that 'gets me every time' I hear it is "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart. Everytime I hear that song, I just get all teary-eyed...Just a great song about a parent's love and them wanting the best for their kids. LOVE IT.