Lil’ Punkins

Every year, picking out pumpkins was a fun October tradition for us. As I look at this picture, I realize that on this night, Will was sopping wet from swim practice and probably starving.  We stopped at a local grocery store on the way home to grab a quick dinner and the pumpkins were right outside the door.

I share this because I don’t want to give you the impression that I was planning out wonderful activities for every second of the day.  We just took advantage of an opportunity that was there. 

Our family has had so much fun over the years. Fun and love, despite the fact that not one of us is perfect, myself included. I’m sharing our story with you not because I am the perfect mom (spoiler alert: I’m not), but because a happy life is within reach for all of us! I’m here to share the things that made our lives better, more fun, less stressful and just a little bit easier. And… When my own kids were little, I would have found it helpful to have a place like Mikey’s Journal to turn for encouragement and inspiration.

When this photo was taken, we had pulled Michael out of our public school for a year, knowing that an extra year before kindergarten would make sense for him (but an extra year of preschool had been denied by our public school). After much worry and many tough decisions, we ended up paying for private therapies and a private preschool to give him that opportunity. It was a challenging decision on many levels and it was stressful for me and Dave. Yet, this photo shows our little buddy smiling and happy with his new school and his wonderful therapists…we were very lucky to be able to make this choice…but at the time we were nervous and unsure if it was a good use of the money, which we would surely need for more therapies and interventions later.

Maybe Mikey’s smiling face and my hindsight can remind you to find the joy, even in the chaotic times. Your kids will only remember this part, so make it count!