Disolving Barriers, Kicking Boards and When Your Kid Exceeds Expectations

Somehow, I continually manage to be surprised and relieved when I realize it’s Friday night. “Surely I’ll have time to write about what I’ve been thankful for this week. It’s only Friday!”

And each Friday night, I look at the clock and it’s 9:00pm on Sunday.

“Oh right, we had baseball and swimming and life and building armor and trying parkour, and did my husband do the laundry and my son isn’t in bed and AARGHGOTOFREAKINGSLEEP!”

Or, you know, mind yoga and Zen thoughts about how “I want to remember these years when my little boy wants me at bedtime. One day, he won’t.”

I do life and bedtime and being here and decide that next week, I’ll write a totally epic “this is what I’m thankful for” to make up for my slackerness.

But, I don’t. The clock ticks a minute and it’s next week again. I’ll have to make it extra-epic.

I sit down to write. Netflix, my secret dealer in the night whispers “I’m here.”

“Which shows? Wait. No. I’ve quit you,” I reply.

Netflix laughs and it’s 1:00am. I’ve lived other people’s lives for the past couple of hours.

But this week, it’s still Saturday earlier on Sunday and maybe I can actually get this done. After Clark’s logic (as in completely utterly illogical – Lisa agrees) Facebook talk, I’ve got to try, right?

HUH??

While I’ve been wanting to fill you all in on all that I’m thankful for for a while, it’s been a less-than-stellar week. Usually, during the crappy ones, it’s helpful to remember that there’s almost always so much more good than bad. No no, I’m not VagueBooking (because douchy), I just don’t want this to become a post about dental issues. Ew. “Dental issues” sounds awful. Like “moist.” Gross.

Anyway, I had oral surgery when the left side of my face swelled up like a grapefruit and I’m totally completely fine even though I can’t blow my nose or sniff “until further notice.”

Which has been a good reminder that it’s been a couple-of-whatever-measures-time-since-I-was-last-thankful-here.” (I promise to tell you all about the horrifying dental issues at a later date because who doesn’t love stories about teeth?)

Disolving Barriers (from the interwebs to in real life)

I saw friends from the interwebs! Not Lizzi though. While she was in the US again, she apparently likes Hasty more than she likes me (can’t really blame her for that) so I didn’t see her.

But I got to meet Christine and Phoenix! Boo-yah!

They were awesomely wonderful and exactly as I’d imagined. Even better because hearing Christine’s laughter in person is like toes in a fountain on a hot day. Which we also did.

The time with Christine went by WAY too quickly but then Tucker and I were off on another Metro ride to see Allie and her brood! We’ve met before, and she remains as super-fab as she was then.

Although he denies it because girls are gross, I suspect that Tucker wants to marry Allie’s daughter who not only knows what Parkour is, but told him “great job!” and showed him some moves of her own. He’s taken an interest in lifting weights and building muscles. Just saying.

Tucker’s hand on her arm and the look on his face? Says “Audrey, you’re mine very please??” (but EWWWW GIRLS)

Wow. I just realized that the last thankfulness I shared was when I saw other blog friends and had recently adopted a new Guinea Pig. Huge thanks to Dyanne who sent an email about the only reason to ever buy kale and the general care of piggies.

Kicking Boards

When my little boy announced that he wanted to participate in his Tae Kwon Do’s studio’s public tournament, I was worried.

“Are you sure sure?” I asked because one of the things about my son is that he has these ideas in his mind about how perfect things will go and then if he messes up or thinks he’s not as good as other kids are at it, he’s heartbroken. He skates the gulf between typical and not. His friends vary — kids from mainstream first grade and ones he met years ago in PAC. Sometimes, neither gets him. He’s not autistic, and he’s not typical.

No kid is really one thing or another, or anything but themselves, I know, but my son volleys between worlds. He doesn’t fit in just so with either community.

He’s occasionally misunderstood and even bullied from typical kids. Confused about how to play with his special needs friends when their games are different from his. Confused. We’re in the Middle world, once again, three years later.

But you know what? He went to that Tae Kwon Do tournament and he KICKED SOME BOARDS! (which, it turns out, is even more super-awesome than kicking ass)

You can see his foot break through in the middle photo

When Your Kid Exceeds Expectations

My kid completely exceeded my expectations with the board kicking. Just a short time ago, there’s no way he’d have gotten up in front of an audience and told the TKD Master which kicks he’d be using and then do them. Of course I cried.

I won’t blather on and on but honestly you guys, I am so unbelievably proud of my little boy. Like I said, we’ve had some ups and downs this year but he’s talking, has friends, and sometimes at night, he tells me to not touch him rather than laying his head on my stomach to be sure I don’t leave before he falls asleep. Who’d have known I’d miss that.

His scootering takes him further away, his comfort zone grows each day. He’s in Little League baseball and at first, I thought we’d made a mistake. Yesterday’s game gave him a hit in each inning and in the final, a great hit, past second base on his first swing. As pitcher (it’s coach-pitched but they still play each outfield position), he got a grounder, threw it to first, and made an out.

All that. A couple of years ago, there’s no way I’d hand this kid a bat.

Of course I cried.

How’s your week been?

PS Not too late to link up for Finish the Sentence Friday

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