A New Month, Back to Reality

With my son averaging a major incident at school every week or so for most of the past year, it was a major accomplishment that he went the entire month of January without one. Unfortunately, we are now in a new month.

With the blizzard closing school for two days last week, Kai has only been in school for two and a half days so far this month. But, he already has had two major incidents.

His latest one yesterday may have been brought on because one of his favorite classes, math, was canceled in place of a special program on conservation. Disruption in the routine has always been difficult for Kai, and, despite the progress he has made, is still something that can throw him off.

By now we are used to the rollercoaster ride where one moment Kai is amazing us with something new and wonderful that shows the progress he is making, while in another moment does something that demonstrates that our work is far from complete.

But, despite all of our experience with these ups and downs, I still have to admit that it was particularly disappointing to find out about his latest incident. After the amazing month he had, I was beginning to hope that good behavior at school would become the norm. Now, I feel like January was just some sort of aberration.

If I could take a step back, I probably would understand that Kai’s performance in January was not a fluke. It is a sign of great progress. But, progress doesn’t mean perfection. And there will still be many more bumps on the road.

I am having difficulty dealing with these high-low reversals. Holding steady in the face of storms; seeing the light through the darkness of the moment. This is my challenge.