A little less Baby

Today I came into school with Eamon because I had to drop some things off to another mom. I was following and when I came around the corner after him, I saw a giant 5th grader rocket out of the breakfast room, collide with Eamon, knock him literally off his feet about 18" into the air and then land directly on top of him. Ouch.

Eamon didn't look at me. The gianormous 5th grader helped him back up and said sorry. Eamon kind of did the equivalent of a cartoon character shaking his head and then walked over to get in his Kindergarten line.

I followed him to his line, bent down and said, "Wow, are you ok?" He had the beginnings of tears in his eyes, so I asked him if he needed a hug. He put his arms around me and while he was hugging me, his hands patted my back gently.

"I'm ok mom, I landed on my backpack."

After these next few week I won't have a Kindergartener anymore. I was so worried that Kindergarten wouldn't work for Eamon. Eden thrives in her school setting. Her Pre-school teacher had nothing but compliments the whole year long. She is sharp, quick, and outspoken. The same Pre-school teacher told me to be cautious with Eamon. Not because of what he can do, but how he learns. He's mechanical and in his head like his dad. We have to be aggressive advocates for him because of that. Some people in his academic life wanted me to get him tested for learning disabilities when he was 4. We didn't go through with it. He didn't know all his letters, but he could rock the lego table like an 8 year old.

It seems like a small miracle that he has such an understanding teacher who gives him the time and patience he needs. I have my foot in my mouth right now because last August, when we found out who his teacher would be, i was very much against it. She's been around for a while, and she seemed a little old school to me. But every conference this year she said "Everyone learns at their own pace, he will get it when he gets it."

She was right. For the past two weeks Eamon has been asking me how to say nearly every sign that he sees and spell words that he hears. He repeats the sounds over and over under his breath. He is on the cusp of that magical click when it all comes together, and he wants to do it because he really really loves it. It baffles me how you want them to do something on their own so much, but when they finally learn it and after you are so proud of them, you get sad for the little bit of baby they just lost.