Valentine's Day - Special Needs Edition
It's been a while since my last post. It was actually last summer! A lot has happened since then. With new seasons comes new changes, and a new world we are living in.
Fast forward it's now February and big kid just turned 13! I'm still in shock. Not only do I have a teenager, but I have a teenager who has a "BFF" and said "BFF" is his Valentine! He's been talking about his BFF for a few months now. It started with a text from his teacher telling me that big kid felt sad that he didn't have any friends. (You can only imagine my heartache to hear this). So the teacher suggested that he talk to all of his classmates and see who he has things in common with. Well, that day he came back to the teacher excited and announced that he now has a BFF and that she has a lot in common with him. She likes to draw, color, animals, etc. This made all of us happy. Socialization is a bit challenge for the kid. Being able to communicate with something, interact with an actual 2-way conversation can be hard for him.
Big kid has been talking about his BFF and how pretty she is, how fancy her clothes are, she wears the prettiest bows on her hair etc. The kid has a crush on his BFF. Even dared to say that she was prettier than me! My reaction? Hold the phone, WTF? How dare big kid say she's prettier than ME! His mother, friend, doctor, caregiver, teacher, his everything? Yes, I know he's growing up. It's just hard to accept that he's a teenager. He's my first born! My first born with special needs who's now a teenager! Mixed emotions, indeed.
For Christmas he couldn't find "the perfect gift" for his BFF. Then on Dec. 31st we started to see Valentine's Day decorations popping up everywhere. The lightbulb went off of big kid's head. His BFF is going to be his Valentine and he has to find the perfect gift ASAP. So a couple of weeks went by and I take him to Kmart and he's moping around sighing that he can't find the perfect gift for his Valentine. The kid could get an Oscar! As we strolled through the store, we came across an entire aisle full of Valentine's Day candy, stuffed animals, etc. I showed him the array of stuffed animals with hearts when he spotted the "perfect" one. A pink elephant holding a red heart. The kid's eyes lit up! We found the perfect gift, a month before Valentine's Day.
It's now the beginning of February and every day is a countdown " I can't wait until Valentine's Day!" Each month, I take the big kid and Pollito to Home Depot for a Kid's Workshop. The kids build a craft usually with a theme that corresponds to a major holiday within that month. So in early February, the project was a Valentine's Day picture box. With our help, he made it and painted it ever so carefully because this too, will be a part of his gift to his Valentine. I thought it was the sweetest thing to see him so excited. He had already made her a handmade Valentine's Day card and I gave him a chocolate rose to add to the gift.
It is now the weekend before Valentine's Day and his birthday! He had a school dance scheduled and he had to have a new outfit that he picked out. A nice new shirt and tie and a new pair of pants. The kid loves to dress up for special occasions and this particular Valentine's Day had to be perfect.
Valentine's Day arrived! The kid looked dapper in his outfit. Took pictures of him hold the gifts he was going to give to his BFF, and off to school he went. I was so excited for him! Dad texted me every couple of hours - "Any word from the school yet? " By 1:30pm I texted the teacher "You've got me biting my nails here...." A few minutes later, she sends me the most amazing video.
I mean, this was a major milestone and I wasn't going to be there to witness it. The video was the sweetest interaction. I cried. Ugly cry for a few minutes. I couldn't contain myself. My baby was no longer a baby. My baby who has special needs likes a girl and was giving her a gift. My baby is a teenager. Despite still having developmental delays and some socialization anxieties, my boy has his first crush and it is innocent and pure.
The class had an exchange of Valentine's Day cards/gifts and the video shows big kid trying to "tiptoe" his way over to his BFF with the pink elephant in his hand. She is seated and he gives it to her and quickly sits in the chair nearby. The teacher asks him what do you say? He's nervous and easy "thank you" and she says " Happy Valentine's Day" so he says "Happy Valentine's Day". His BFF loved the elephant and leaned over to hug him. He had big smile on his face. He was so happy as was his BFF. She later told the teacher that she will hug the elephant every night and that big kid was so romantic!
Those 18 seconds gave me LIFE. Those were the sweetest 18 seconds that I will never forget and am forever thankful to his wonderful teacher for capturing that moment and sharing it with me. I am so proud of my son. I desperately wanted this video to go viral and show it off to the world! But I must respect the BFF's privacy and cannot. She also sent pictures of them dancing and one of them sitting together with his BFF showing off her elephant between them. Sweet, innocence.
I must say that I never gave much thought to his teenage years and how it would turn out. Not that I didn't have any hope, but that I always focused on the present when it came to him developing over the years. I still don't know what the future holds, but so far, 3 days into his "teens" has started off pretty damn good. Raising a son with special needs is not easy by any means. But we will try our best for him to experience the same things as his typical peers. The kid has an amazing heart and old soul. I pray that never changes and that he can find love some day and live in his happily ever after.
Fast forward it's now February and big kid just turned 13! I'm still in shock. Not only do I have a teenager, but I have a teenager who has a "BFF" and said "BFF" is his Valentine! He's been talking about his BFF for a few months now. It started with a text from his teacher telling me that big kid felt sad that he didn't have any friends. (You can only imagine my heartache to hear this). So the teacher suggested that he talk to all of his classmates and see who he has things in common with. Well, that day he came back to the teacher excited and announced that he now has a BFF and that she has a lot in common with him. She likes to draw, color, animals, etc. This made all of us happy. Socialization is a bit challenge for the kid. Being able to communicate with something, interact with an actual 2-way conversation can be hard for him.
Big kid has been talking about his BFF and how pretty she is, how fancy her clothes are, she wears the prettiest bows on her hair etc. The kid has a crush on his BFF. Even dared to say that she was prettier than me! My reaction? Hold the phone, WTF? How dare big kid say she's prettier than ME! His mother, friend, doctor, caregiver, teacher, his everything? Yes, I know he's growing up. It's just hard to accept that he's a teenager. He's my first born! My first born with special needs who's now a teenager! Mixed emotions, indeed.
For Christmas he couldn't find "the perfect gift" for his BFF. Then on Dec. 31st we started to see Valentine's Day decorations popping up everywhere. The lightbulb went off of big kid's head. His BFF is going to be his Valentine and he has to find the perfect gift ASAP. So a couple of weeks went by and I take him to Kmart and he's moping around sighing that he can't find the perfect gift for his Valentine. The kid could get an Oscar! As we strolled through the store, we came across an entire aisle full of Valentine's Day candy, stuffed animals, etc. I showed him the array of stuffed animals with hearts when he spotted the "perfect" one. A pink elephant holding a red heart. The kid's eyes lit up! We found the perfect gift, a month before Valentine's Day.
It's now the beginning of February and every day is a countdown " I can't wait until Valentine's Day!" Each month, I take the big kid and Pollito to Home Depot for a Kid's Workshop. The kids build a craft usually with a theme that corresponds to a major holiday within that month. So in early February, the project was a Valentine's Day picture box. With our help, he made it and painted it ever so carefully because this too, will be a part of his gift to his Valentine. I thought it was the sweetest thing to see him so excited. He had already made her a handmade Valentine's Day card and I gave him a chocolate rose to add to the gift.
It is now the weekend before Valentine's Day and his birthday! He had a school dance scheduled and he had to have a new outfit that he picked out. A nice new shirt and tie and a new pair of pants. The kid loves to dress up for special occasions and this particular Valentine's Day had to be perfect.
Valentine's Day arrived! The kid looked dapper in his outfit. Took pictures of him hold the gifts he was going to give to his BFF, and off to school he went. I was so excited for him! Dad texted me every couple of hours - "Any word from the school yet? " By 1:30pm I texted the teacher "You've got me biting my nails here...." A few minutes later, she sends me the most amazing video.
I mean, this was a major milestone and I wasn't going to be there to witness it. The video was the sweetest interaction. I cried. Ugly cry for a few minutes. I couldn't contain myself. My baby was no longer a baby. My baby who has special needs likes a girl and was giving her a gift. My baby is a teenager. Despite still having developmental delays and some socialization anxieties, my boy has his first crush and it is innocent and pure.
The class had an exchange of Valentine's Day cards/gifts and the video shows big kid trying to "tiptoe" his way over to his BFF with the pink elephant in his hand. She is seated and he gives it to her and quickly sits in the chair nearby. The teacher asks him what do you say? He's nervous and easy "thank you" and she says " Happy Valentine's Day" so he says "Happy Valentine's Day". His BFF loved the elephant and leaned over to hug him. He had big smile on his face. He was so happy as was his BFF. She later told the teacher that she will hug the elephant every night and that big kid was so romantic!
Those 18 seconds gave me LIFE. Those were the sweetest 18 seconds that I will never forget and am forever thankful to his wonderful teacher for capturing that moment and sharing it with me. I am so proud of my son. I desperately wanted this video to go viral and show it off to the world! But I must respect the BFF's privacy and cannot. She also sent pictures of them dancing and one of them sitting together with his BFF showing off her elephant between them. Sweet, innocence.
I must say that I never gave much thought to his teenage years and how it would turn out. Not that I didn't have any hope, but that I always focused on the present when it came to him developing over the years. I still don't know what the future holds, but so far, 3 days into his "teens" has started off pretty damn good. Raising a son with special needs is not easy by any means. But we will try our best for him to experience the same things as his typical peers. The kid has an amazing heart and old soul. I pray that never changes and that he can find love some day and live in his happily ever after.
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