Jonathan is so special

Our homeschool group (which started in my living room with 3 families and now has over 120) had a "not back to school" potluck dinner last night. It was a lot of fun and very yummy! Mike, Jonathan and I were having a conversation with a mom who I'd never really talked to before who had come to see High School Musical. This mom and her 5 year old daughter were commenting on what a wonderful job Jonathan did in the play, how he stood out, and how much they enjoyed it. Later in another conversation this mom commented again on what bright eyes Jonathan has (she was really "taken" with him). This morning I was looking back on those conversations with some interesting thoughts. You see this mom's daughter is in a wheel chair, and I got to thinking about how my original life plan was to get my master's degree in special education. I was working on that when I got pregnant with Jonathan. That brought me to thoughts on Jonathan's early days in Pediatric Intensive Care (he had suffered a stroke when he was three days old) where they were telling us about Jonathan's "brain damage". All of a sudden in the span of a week I'd gone from being a pregnant woman working on her graduate degree in special education to a mom with a child with potential special needs. I certainly don't have all the time it would take to fill in the details of the past (almost) 12 years, but except for an outgrown blood sugar condition and a minor eye muscle issue Jonathan is a normally developing, healthy boy. He might not read as fast as some other kids, but he can read. He might not be perfect (we're all human). He might even be going through a difficult behavioral phase--talking back etc... (I think this is expected of an almost 12 year old...part of the growing process) . But he's the best Jonathan I could ever have! My heart hurts sometimes to think about how much I love him (and Madi and Jake) . He's "different in a good way" as one of the songs from High School Musical says. Yesterday at theatre Jonathan was standing around with a very thoughtful look on his face. He couldn't decide if he wanted to stay and tryout for a part in the next play or if he wanted to just do the tech work like the lights instead. He had tears forming in his eyes as he was trying to make this agonizing decision. Thankfully the director encouraged him to stay with the option of changing his mind at a later time and with the possibility of being "double cast" (maybe he'll have a part in two shows and do the lights for the other two). He is still my baby with potential "special" needs and it is my job to figure out the best way to meet those needs. At least for today, I think we're doing OK. I love you Jonathan!