goodness abounds. i was reflecting on yesterday's social club homeschooling- and seeing the goodness in it. first zoe went to her friend E's house. she is a beautiful, kind girl, who is the same age as zoe and has autism. zoe adores spending time with her- she says they have a special connection- that they understand each other- which is fascinating. after my haircut i picked them both up and they played at our house for a few hours- so i had the opportunity to see them together.
first of all, zoe seems calmed by her- she has no nervousness, no anxiety, no stress- she leads the play, but she also watches E and follows her cue- and engages her. zoe wanted to read her a book- but she wanted to teach her to read as well. so after each line she ask E to repeat it, and if it wasn't pronounced correctly, she'd go over it again- pointing at the words as she read. it's really remarkable to see her in this light- to see her as leader- as teacher- so comfortable in her own skin- so different from what i'm used to.
then she played with another friend- a home-schooled friend who is very similar to zoe- again, she is so comfortable- so natural and not stressed. it makes me realize how much work it must be for her to spend time with her typical peers- with kids who aren't excepting her- who don't get her. she can sense it- but doesn't understand why or what to do about it- so it leaves her confused and feeling bad about herself.
i'm so happy she has these girls- these friends- and other ones- girls who know she's a bit different but still value her. i'm trying to just leave it at that and not become sad about leaving and dragging her across the world to uganda to try and fit into another culture.
but i'm giving it up- i'm choosing to trust. i'm loving what i'm seeing. my mom says that zoe on her good days is really who she is- that the other days are just her growing pains - her adjustments - fine tuning. i love that. i'll take it. i like to look at all my kids that way. i need to remember that home is the practice zone- it's where you test the boundaries because it's safe- it's where you let your guard down- where you can get out all that energy you held tightly reigned in while at school all day- where you can cry about something just because you're tired. we are works in progress.
goodness abounds if i look for it.
first of all, zoe seems calmed by her- she has no nervousness, no anxiety, no stress- she leads the play, but she also watches E and follows her cue- and engages her. zoe wanted to read her a book- but she wanted to teach her to read as well. so after each line she ask E to repeat it, and if it wasn't pronounced correctly, she'd go over it again- pointing at the words as she read. it's really remarkable to see her in this light- to see her as leader- as teacher- so comfortable in her own skin- so different from what i'm used to.
then she played with another friend- a home-schooled friend who is very similar to zoe- again, she is so comfortable- so natural and not stressed. it makes me realize how much work it must be for her to spend time with her typical peers- with kids who aren't excepting her- who don't get her. she can sense it- but doesn't understand why or what to do about it- so it leaves her confused and feeling bad about herself.
i'm so happy she has these girls- these friends- and other ones- girls who know she's a bit different but still value her. i'm trying to just leave it at that and not become sad about leaving and dragging her across the world to uganda to try and fit into another culture.
but i'm giving it up- i'm choosing to trust. i'm loving what i'm seeing. my mom says that zoe on her good days is really who she is- that the other days are just her growing pains - her adjustments - fine tuning. i love that. i'll take it. i like to look at all my kids that way. i need to remember that home is the practice zone- it's where you test the boundaries because it's safe- it's where you let your guard down- where you can get out all that energy you held tightly reigned in while at school all day- where you can cry about something just because you're tired. we are works in progress.
goodness abounds if i look for it.
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