Cooper and the Talent Show

If you know me or read my blog, you know I have a son with Aspberger's Syndrome.  This is a form of autism, on the mild side of the spectrum.  Cooper is Cooper and we love him for exactly who he is.  We regulate his diet and do detox foot pads for him and all these things seem to help him immensely.  Aspberger's kids are not social butterflies.  Social situations are tough on them and they do not have the social skills to recognize many boundaries in our society.  That being said, Coop has come a long way.  He is amazing and I am blessed to be the mother of this wondrous little man.

Cooper came home yesterday and said he wanted to be in the school talent show.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  He tells jokes.  He has only done this at family get-togethers, but he is pretty funny.  He finishes his jokes with, "am I right or am I right?"  Hilarious.  Or he gives is own little drum beat, "Baddadumpda".  I love it.  I can only hope that the other kids and parents will get his little sense of humor.

The talent show may seem like no big deal for most kids.  They want to get up there, sing, play an instrument, all those "normal" things.  That this even showed up on Cooper's radar is huge.  That he wants to do it is beyond any kind of range I can think about.  This is a child, who up to three years ago, I had to force to go outside and play.  This is a child who refers to his best friend at school as his "classmate, I don't really know his name, but he is my best friend".  This is a child who would yell at other children for not playing video games the "right" way.  My Cooper is going to try out for the talent show and tell jokes.  Miracles happen in every day life. 

So as I celebrate my small miracle, I say rejoice.  We all face challenges in our children.  Some great, some small.  All challenges that our children face are huge to us.  We as adults sometimes feel we know the outcome of them reaching out and want to protect them above all else.  I know in some areas, I am overprotective of Cooper.  I have had to recognize this and let go.  Letting go allows my Coop-de-doop to fly.  He can soar if I let go.  Through my tears I will watch him conquer his world.  

If you are facing anything involving your child, I implore you to pray about everything going on.  "Knee" mail to God accomplishes so many things, the least of which is a peace in your spirit.  We cannot shield our children for all harmful things, they have to touch the stove to know what "hot" means.  We can always shelter them with prayer, love, and understanding.  We are our children's soft place to land when life is bumpy.  

So life is good and I am blessed and Cooper is hysterical......

God bless you and yours.

Letting Go.....a little

So, my eleven  year old son, Grant went on winter retreat this past weekend.  That was a tough one for me.  Tyler went on a mission trip last summer, and I was mostly okay, but he was fourteen and very involved in our youth group.  Grant has, up to now, mostly stayed on the fringes and that was okay with me too.  I had to let my little guy get on a bus and get going.  

It's not to say that he hasn't had sleepovers, but those are usually in the neighborhood.  The retreat was two hours away.  It's not that I don't trust the youth leadership in our church, I do one hundred percent.  It's the fact that Grantie Bear is my most daring child.  He will climb a tree and jump out of it, he does not fear much.  He will try anything.  We have been to so many Urgent Care facilities, I keep wondering when CPS is going to come a knockin'.  Between stitches and broken bones, he has had the most in his little life and I admit to some trepidation to the whole going two hours away thing.

The phone rang early Saturday morning and I was sure I was heading out to meet someone at a local hospital.  But it was just one of Tatum's friends.  No emergency phone calls, picked him up at the scheduled time.  The only thing that was wrong with him was he lost his voice, from too much screaming.  Oh, he was dead tired from dodge ball too.  

But last night, as I was reading in bed (did not stay up for the rest of super bowl), he came and laid down with me, but quickly shuffled off.  "You going to bed honey?"  I asked.  "No, I am going to go read my bible," he said.  Wow, going off to read his bible.  Getting closer to God.

So my middle child, my fearless child, my Grantie bear, was going off to bed a little early so he could read his bible.  He is getting closer to God.  All I had to do was let go.

God is good.  Where in your life as a mother do you have a hard time letting go?  Let me know.

God bless you and yours.