Last of First

As most of you know, this time of year is back to school time. Even though this year is different in many ways because of current events, it is still back to school in some form for all students.

I strive to keep my blog lighthearted and fun and I do not want to use this as a platform for any kind of political or controversial topics. However, with my youngest child entering high school this year I have lots of feelings about that because of personal circumstances which I will be talking about here. So, while this may not be as lighthearted as my usual, it is still based on my own personal family experiences and reflections on those experiences.

You see, my 14-year-old son has Down syndrome. He is an amazing, funny, intuitive, sporty, silly kid. However, back to school time always feels different for me in regards to him. And this year he is entering 9th grade, high school, my last to have his first day of high school.

As I was perusing the class list this evening, I got my usual apprehensive feeling that my son isn’t ‘capable’ of taking many of the classes. I really hate feeling that way because my son is capable of a lot of things; however geometry is not one of them. Neither is he capable of many of the other classes listed in the catalog. I always try to keep a positive attitude about having a child with Down syndrome, but sometimes it is hard. Yes, hard to admit. Sometimes it is hard to not feel a little down due to all the things I think he ‘won’t’ do. I don’t like thinking there are things he won’t do. I want him to be able to do anything and everything. Sometimes that is hard to face.

He will take reading/writing classes, math, social studies and science modified to his level. His favorite elective is PE, which is weird because PE was my least favorite class in school. In fact, I hated PE class. But he can participate in PE and he is good at sports, which is likely why he likes it so much. He probably feels the most accepted in PE class.

But would he like ceramics? culinary arts? painting? Art is really not his thing, but maybe he can find some kind of art discipline that he does enjoy. Wonder if watching and analyzing kid YouTube videos can be made into some kind of course…because THAT he loves.

But mostly I want him to be happy and have friends and social connections. He’s in a new district this year due to our move to the Poshranch and I’m hoping he will make some new friends that he connects with. It is hard for him to make friends as he is often quiet around new people and new situations, but once he gets to know someone he opens up. Making friends is often hard for kids with disabilities because of the gap in abilities, but I know there are kids out there just waiting to meet him, with disabilities and otherwise; and he’s already met a few that I hope he will become good friends with. He’s a fun kid to be around when he feels comfortable. And he is a champion Uno player and we have almost every Uno game known to humankind: Uno, Uno Attack, Uno Showdown, Uno Spin, Uno Dare, Minecraft Uno, Uno Flip (bet you didn’t know there were so many versions of Uno, did you?). Hmmm….maybe another class idea…something to do with Uno, or board games, or card games…

Meanwhile, at home though, he has a supportive mom and dad, grandparents and two dogs who love him dearly. He has lots of land to learn how to manage (with help!) and a brother and sister who are far away in college, but only a FaceTime call away. And sometimes he makes the funniest expressions and I can’t help but chuckling at his silliness.

He’ll be okay, I’ll be okay. And maybe I’m also just feeling a little bit sad that this is the LAST of my children to have their FIRST day of high school. Maybe, just a little…

Thanks for reading!

Until next time…