Small Success

The Smallest Success is Usually the most Satisfying.

"Success is a journey, not a destination."

Ben Sweetland

Well we did it!  It was all worth it too. The lack of sleep, the tension, the financial strain, the drama.... it was all worth the challenges of the day to see my son and his amazing group of friends having fun and "just being kids!"  

It was a very long, hot, day, but what better way, to celebrate turning 12 years old. The kids were incredibly good, polite, funny...they all got on so well. Everyone had such a great time. It was awesome!  I was able to talk to many of my son's friends. They are all so cool. So accepting of differences. They are a real credit to their families and to each other.  I watched my son laughing and smiling, joking around and having food fights! It was absolutely gorgeous. He has come such a long way, grown so much and matured into a fine young man. I think I am incredibly lucky to have a son like him. 

I can recall a time when everything was so difficult, we never smiled. My son couldn't think positively about anything, including himself. He tried to push everyone away. Friends, family, everyone that meant something to him. We were all desperately trying to reach out to him, to support him and to guide him along a very bumpy road. There was also a time when I thought I had lost him. I was honestly thinking I would never see my beautiful son's face light up with laughter again.  It was hard to see him like that. 

I may be jumping the gun a bit here, but I feel this is now, well and truly in the past. I feel like he has climbed up a big, treacherous mountain and I am watching him sliding down the other side.  His whole personality has come back, the smiles, giggles, the 

confidence. I am finally seeing for the first time in a long, long time, my son.

Now onto the younger one.  Well, he managed to last until 8pm that night. Yes, that is what I said. 2.30am - 8.00pm that night. He had also swam for at least 4 hours in the pool during the party. Another saviour in my life, a best friend, had the challenge of watching or really wearing out my child. She did achieve this even though he went through to 8pm. 


So now my boys are back into their sleep routines, and once again peace is restored to our home. Just when I thought this weekend couldn't get any better, I gave my youngest his home reader at bed time. This is another new thing for him to do. We have never had school home readers before, even though he has been reading at home for a while.  
There is nothing sweeter than listening to my son read. This little guy, doesn't say an awful lot, but when he does it's golden.  He read the book totally on his own. He even accompanied the words with a few facial expressions, when reading about a rabbit feeling sad.  
Should I go out and buy a Lotto ticket?  The "universal powers" are certainly sending some positive vibes our way.  

Nah, maybe I should just be thankful to have a moment like this in our life.

The youngest has also ripped out another really funny comment today that I must share...

Mum has had no sleep...so she isn't exactly bouncing around the house full of happy, shiny, energy.... the youngest is demanding water while playing with his little people.


He isn't looking at me or engaging me. Just reciting "Where's the water ?'"from the dining room.  My eldest catches on straight away, and immediately goes into role play mode... (he's just so good!)  "Can I have some water please Mum?"  he says.  We are talking quite slowly and placing a lot of emphasis on our roles. The youngest looks over and watches the antics. 


I get my son a cold glass on water and he leaves. So I wait in the kitchen. Waiting, waiting...The youngest looks over and sees me waiting with the water jug and a cup, but continues to play.  Feeling really tired and knowing I need to do a mountain of washing, I walk over to the table with the cup and jug, and I wait for a response. 


The "golden child" looks up at me. I think to myself, great!  finally "the question". 
But instead I get.....

"Where is it ?"

It was so incredibly funny. I couldn't help but laugh.  All that framing.... I got a question but just not the one I had set up, but really this one was better. It was a very natural comment...."where is it?"  such attitude is so beautiful!   
I can't say enough, how precious these moments are.