With only six days of school left for Keller I find myself amazed at how very fast this school year has flown by. This year was a first for our family. Up until this year Keller had never gone to school or day care for that matter. At the beginning of the year our prayers, as Keller's parent's, were mostly about him making new friends and coming out of his shell a bit. Today as I picked him up from school I was blind sided by the huge transformation that has taken place in his life. Since September a routine has evolved . . . . each day around 11:30 McKendry and I leave our house for the short drive to Oakland to pick up Keller from school. This is ALWAYS very exciting for McKendry because from the second that her eyes open each morning she begins to ask, "Where's my Teller?" her way of saying Keller. Each morning I say the same thing, "he's at school" . . . . I remember throughout the months of September, October when she would ask me this I would have a small ache in my stomach that would come up . . . . . . I would think to myself . . . . . "I hope he's having a good day" "Lord, please help him to make new friends" "God, please don't let him sit by himself at recess today" Each day as we pull up I make the same steps up the sidewalk to where all of the children sit patiently (not always) for their loved ones to pick them up from school. At the beginning of the school year I would usually round the corner to see Keller sitting quietly "criss cross applesauce" waiting . . . . as soon as he would see me he usually ran to me so happy to see a familiar face. Each day on the ride home we would discuss what they had done that day at school . . . . I would usually always ask "did you make any new friends today" "who did you play with at recess" most days I would get a no . . . . . . however, as the months progressed on I would round the corner to find him sitting talking to another child . . . . . he would also began to greet me with "I played with Jake today or I was the door holder today". I would share with Bobby in the evenings the progression and usually at supper time Keller would share with his daddy the names of his new little buddies at school.
Just a couple of weeks ago Keller had his second "field trip" of the year. When preparing for the field trip I reflected back to his field trip from the beginning of the year. The first, a trip to the local pumpkin patch, wasn't exactly my idea of a enjoyable day as a mother. He spent most of the day glued to my leg, and would hardly join his class in any of the activities. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed it, but I felt this horrible void for Keller. I saw how much fun he was missing. He really didn't show any interest in interaction with the other kids at all. His teacher and I discussed his shy predisposition, and she encouraged me that he was making strides in the right direction. . . . now to the second field trip. This trip, a trip to Tad's Pizza Party, was something that he had talked about for weeks. On the morning of the trip, as I walked into his room to wake him, his first words to me were "Don't forget I have to wear my school t-shirt" On the way, he talked to me about who he would play with and how very excited he was to join his class. On this day, as the day started to come to a close, I was in awe of the about-face Keller had made.
God also gave me that same affirmation today . . . . . . as I rounded the corner, as I always do, Mrs. Faye turned and announced "Keller, mommy's here". Today, that shy child that I thought would never come out of his shell, stood up, shot both arms up in the air and turned to all of the children and said, "Bye everyone, I LOVE YOU!" At that moment Mrs Faye turned to me and said, "that's not something he would have done at the beginning of the year". As I held my precious child's hand as we walked to the car today tears streamed down my face . . . . . . thank you God for answered prayer.
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