Senior year . . . just like that

We survived Senior Year when we didn't believe we would! We survived because my son is tenacious. He simply does not give up.
So many people told me this day would never arrive. So many people explained the poor chances for success that my son could expect. Some even recommended an institution. Yes, that kind of place.

Never mind them.

Bus route worries; would it be the same? would the same driver be chauffeuring? would it be the exact same bus down to the number on the side? Schedule changes; what if I don't get the classes I need? who will help if I need to make changes? Are all the classrooms, bathrooms and cafeterias still in the same place after a summer of renovations? Would anyone remember him? Only everyone!! Does he have to try in classes that he cannot stand? Who in the heck thought that a class called Medical Terminology would be at all interesting to this child? In spite of all the uncertainties, unpleasant and uninteresting lessons, routines shifts and the like, my son has completed high school and done it well. Most important, he has finished on his own terms, in his way and according to his standards.

Since my son survived the first month of 12th grade, we all survived the same. Everyone did remember him. Everyone always has. I ran into his preschool teacher the other day at the market. She remembered him with great fondness and detail. Everyone remembers my son. I son't know what he was worried about, but I suppose worrying about that is a normal concern no matter who you are.

It has been another remarkable year for my son. He has grown into a truly amazing young man. He is consistently kind, conscientious and considerate. He is good. I just cannot say enough about him. I am so truly proud because he has worked so hard - in many ways harder than most - and he has succeeded. Nothing brings me more joy than to know without a doubt that all his hard work and my determination on his behalf has paid off. I know he is proud too because he tries so hard not to smile when someone tells him about his accomplishments. I cannot mention it. He doesn't like to be boasted upon.


There were times when I wondered if I have pushed him hard enough, expected enough of him, asked him to work hard enough. I still don't know because I don't know what is the right amount of effort for him. Thankfully, I believe he knows. I keep forgetting that what is correct for me is not also correct for him. Again, and thankfully, he reminds me in his way.

In so many ways my son is able to multi-task, combining activities that would make me feel incredibly frazzled and irritated would it were to last very long. Where I combine tasks, he cannot. Where he combines sensory input, I cannot. We run on completely different operating systems, it's true. Regardless of how he has completed this years long task, what matters is that he found his own way and finished on his terms. He did an outstanding job.

We made it through College applications, ACT and SAT exams, Prom, Homecoming, Senior pictures, and End of Course Exams. . . Through all of these, my son has taken on as much as he can and weeded out the parts that don't concern him. Again, they wouldn't be the choices that I would make, but they are not my choices. They are his, and he has made them well and according to his own wants and interest.
Graduation lies ahead; practice, ceremonies, uncomfortable regalia, crowds, photos, squealing parents, insolent yet equally proud and a little bit jealous brothers . . . there is so much ahead yet.

Plano East Senior High School Graduation

But just like that . . . Senior year has come to an end and life will begin again.