Logan's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Logan's first day of Kindergarten. For the last year or two I've questioned about whether today would happen. Would we actually enroll him? Would he be speech ready? Would he be socially ready? If his language and social skills were not kindergarten ready, would we wait a year? Maybe, if we moved, could we find him a better fit with his unique needs in a larger area? Would I homeschool?

After weighing all the pros and cons while watching our unexpected baby boy grow up into who he is today, Nick and I decided about a year ago, even in the face of the struggles we knew were facing us with Logan and his Asperger tendencies, Logan would go to Kindergarten on schedule without special help from early intervention. (Of course we expected speech therapy but we did not want a special aide following him around and helping him in school...that was our goal). And guess what? Logan has done it. Of course, we're not out of the woods yet, so to speak. Logan is not a neuro-typical child but he has come SO far in SO little time. I am at a loss of words for the all the things that boy means to me.

Logan has progressed so much that he can string together at least a 5 word sentence (usually more, but this seems to be his average right now), ask TONS of questions, approach strangers and ask them questions, befriends kids on the playground, shares his toys without tantrums, sometimes shares his toys without direction and/or coaching, and does improptu things for his brothers he has never done before, like tell them simple things such as, "I'm so proud of you."

So, leaving him at Kingergarten this morning was bittersweet for me. Logan has such a sweet innocence about him, it's hard for me to leave him with an absolute stranger in a roomful of kids from heaven knows where. But as I watched my little boy smile at the boy sitting next to him at his table, I felt a calming peace. I know my little boy is also in heavenly hands and his progress is indebted to it. He doesn't like me to call him "little" but I cannot wrap my mind around how grown up he is. I'm still going to worry about everything but there is a deep well of strength in Logan that awes me when he gives me opportunities to glimpse it. I am so blessed to just be along for the ride, to see what and how he does things in his life. Because I know he's not going go through life the normal, typical, conventional way....It's going to be the Logan Way.