First Day

Ok, so let me begin by being perfectly clear. I am not starting this blog with the intention of being politically correct and appeasing everyone who may read this. I am just an ordinary average middle age, middle class, adoptive father. I am taking some time out to just wrap my head around the journey thus far and get a grip on what is coming up.

Overwhelmed? You bet! They can write all the books, give all the lectures, and try and teach you all about what to expect. However nothing really prepares you for the journey. You just have to put one foot in front of the other and understand one thing: That young boy is counting on you to stick with it. Even when you feel like a failure and want to just give up. 

So here I am and my son is at his 11th year. He has been through a few kinds of medications. He is one of the smallest kids in his class, probably because the medication he was taking curbed his appetite. He is now off that one and we are trying something different to see if it works. He is 2 years behind in his reading/ writing skills. And not much better at math. He has an IEP to address this but it seems like the public school is very limited in the resources they are allowed to give him because he is not far enough behind to qualify for more resources. THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!! He is two years behind! Obvious question... "How far behind does he need to be to get the help he really needs?!" 

Ugh! We are in the middle of COVID-19 - the re-surgence. So finding a tutor willing to help is nearly impossible. I found a company that tutors children professionally, however they are extremely expensive. Like "second income needed" expensive. So getting him up to speed is going to be a bit more of a mountain than I, um realized. Ahem. 

For me school came fairly easy. I got good grades with moderate effort. I didn't have to study until the early hours of the morning in high school or college. Ok I did put the work in. Just not as much as my dear son seems to need. So when I see the hours of work that are needed to get him there I am a bit overwhelmed. I was raised by a single mom who put in almost no effort to help me in school. So I cannot look back and see a shining example of someone who managed to get a struggling child through the most difficult part of his childhood. 

Here is another challenging part of this scenario. He has a twin sister who is perfectly fine. No problems in school. She is on par for her age and is well adjusted. Why is this a challenge? My son constantly compares himself to his sister. That is not fair but that is every boy. Competitive to a fault.