Some things I take for granted...

Often times I think many parents take advantage of the little things that their children do. Of course there are the One-Up parents, who talk non-stop about their children and how much better they are than yours. Trust me, I have no problem with parents that talk about their kids a lot. When one has young children, the majority of their lives are run by children: their sleeping and eating patterns, schoolwork, daycare, school programs, sports and activities. That is just your life at the time.

But what I often wonder about is the families that just have normal children. And by normal, I mean neurotypical children. I find myself wondering about Caleb a lot and what my hopes and dreams are for him. More often than not, I wonder about the little basic things, that I wonder if some people take for granted. Some of the things that Caleb has done in the past year: going up to the top of the McDonalds playground, playing soccer, getting a hair cut without screaming, telling two jokes, going across the monkey bars by himself, attending a birthday party without a meltdown, and he finally learned to ride a bike (I cried like a baby). These things are incredible accomplishments for him...I mean, honestly, sleeping through the night is an accomplishment for him.

I look forward to continuing to gently push him to try new things. He loves soccer, and loves going to his college classes, and I hope that he will try to play an instrument...maybe. We really hope to find something that gives him a strong sense of accomplishment. He is just not the typical kid that we can say...Hey you are going to college. I mean, college is very important to us as a family, and I can only dream that he would be capable of going. We are going to talk as if he were going, as see where that takes him.

Our other goal is to have a playdate with one of the kids in his class once Spring rolls around. Caleb doesn't really see the point of it, but maybe he will come around.