This parenting gig is a wild ride. One day you have a ten year old who still is crying from disregulation and won’t even return a library book alone and the next he’s ready to March off to college.
It became clear at some point in the last few years that jack is autistic (after years of playing is he or isn’t he with every therapist in town he said after watching a Netflix reality show - wow that’s me!) and it became very clear to me at some point that neurodivergent kids get there when they get there. They simply do not operate on an expectation timeline. Jack has worked very hard to overcome some obstacles and I really couldn’t be prouder bc in typical jack fashion he mostly does this on his own. He needs us for stability but not to push him through. Watching him do all the things! Senior sunrise, grad night, prom, get a job - has been a real joy (even though I know some of it has required real determination for him).
I am excited to see what comes next. (But also cautiously alert to all the pitfalls of autism + college ). Once a mom…
