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| His future's so bright... |
Jack is turning 3 in just a few months. I was gently reminded of this today, as we
attended his “Toddler Transition Meeting.”
This meeting includes collaborating with support services through the
local IU (Intermediate Unit), as they will take over Jack’s therapies and services when he turns
3 (if he qualifies). His current services are provided by
therapists through our county’s Early Intervention program and we couldn’t be
happier with the support Jack (and I) have received. Consequently, I have been in denial about the
emotional impact of this change, for both Jack and myself. These ladies have been in his life for almost
3 years and saying goodbye just seems wrong!
I know they want good things for Jack, just as we do.
In the documents we were sent to prepare for this meeting,
we were informed about the Preschool Education Program and the role of the IU
Service Coordinator, among other things.
And we were also asked this question:
What are the family’s hopes and
dreams for the child?
And I instantly began to cry. Something about this question gets to heart
of my anxieties about the impact Jack’s early arrival may have on his
future. I actually try very hard to
think more in the short-term and day-to-day, when it comes to Jack, because
the moment I start thinking about the future, anxiety overtakes my mind…and my
heart. With our interrupted pregnancy
and Jack’s unexpected early arrival, one thing I learned was to not rely too
much on expectations or plans. So when I
get asked a question like this, I am keenly, and sometimes too painfully, aware
of the dangers of having such plans or expectations in life. It’s not that I don’t have hopes and dreams
for Jack. Oh, do I have hopes and dreams
for this amazing little boy. But to
articulate them may be allowing opportunity for them to be picked up, thrown
to the ground, and stomped on. So I have them, hopes and
dreams, but they are hidden and unspoken, for now. Just think, being along on the journey as Jack
discovers his own hopes and dreams will be that much more extraordinary.
But I will reveal this: I hope that he goes into each day like this…
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| Smiling, face toward the sun. |
And I dream that he ends each day like this…
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| Exhausted, but happy. |
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