New Year, New Boy

School started this week. To me, Tuesday felt more like Christmas than the first day of school. I was so excited for the boys that I hardly slept. Boy Wonder started second grade and Mini Me started Pre-K in his SDC (special day class). Now if you remember last school year at all, school was a challenge for Mini and I to say the least. Mini was not talking a whole lot, used words instead of sounds, and wasn't very social to say the least, in fact biting was a far too common occurrence. Nearly every morning's drop off resulted in his crawling under the table and screaming, then school calling me to pick him up after 20 minutes of a meltdown. I can't blame them. Who wants to listen to a screaming child in full epic meltdown mode? I don't and he's my own flesh and blood! Well this year he's a completely different kid. He's in a class with other children who are on the spectrum, most of them mild like Mini. His teachers and aides are behavioral therapists and they know how to work with special needs kids. Yesterday, Mini had a meltdown in class because he didn't get the yellow chair to sit in. He crawled under the table and cried. They never called me. Instead, at pick up, his teacher told me that he had a rough day, but he was working on giving his brain and body a rest to remind him that its good to be flexible. A lesson we all could learn for sure. For the first time, Mini is completing full days at school and coming home to tell me about all the friends that he has made and the fun things that they did in class. Mini's journey is teaching me to slow down and appreciate what others take for granted. It's not always an easy journey, but it's one I wouldn't change.