Last week Jackson went to a friends birthday party. Shyenne turned 13 and had more than a dozen kids over to celebrate. It happened to be the same night of our annual family party, so I made arrangements for Jackson to go with the help of a high school friend.
At first, he was hesitant and unsure. He didn't want to go at all:
"No party. I will just stay home."
Well, I'm all about pushing his limits and having him try new things, so I pushed him. I reassured him over and over. We talked about the sequence: first mom will take you and Micheal, next you will swim at Shyenne's and sing happy birthday, then mom will pick you up. Kid you not, we went through this litany over a dozen times.
When we got in the car, we repeated this litany with Micheal still another half a dozen times until we got to the party. Once we were there, he was still unsure and needed more prompting, eventually he settled down and I drove off...with tears in my eyes. I watched in the rear view mirror as he pushed another boy into the pond off the pier.
I waited anxiously for an update: would he want to come home early? Would he be overwhelmed by everything? Would the dog freak him out [I hadn't prepared him for the dog]? Would he have a meltdown? I sent a text for an update and learned he was in his element and enjoying himself.
In the end he had a great time. He pushed more kids off the pier, ate a sufficient amount of junk food and even got used to the dog. The party gave Jackson another opportunity to grow, another chance to overcome obstacles and for this I am ever so grateful.
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