Season of Love

Posted byAbPosted inADHD, adoption, FASD, fatherhood, gratitude, growth mindset, love, Parenting, schoolTags:, , , , ,

In the blink of an eye, it’s November.

We had a lowkey fun Halloween. I was away for work the past week and got home in time to take T trick or treating. 🎃

It was a beautiful evening and I loved seeing so many families out. T and I had a blast! 🍬

We reused T’s costume from last year and many people noted that he had the best costume. 🥰

The hubby outdid himself and gave 1 pop + 1 Twizzler + 1 chocolate bar per kid. Word quickly got out that our house was handing out Diabetes and I overheard kids excitedly spread the word.

We got back at 8 after T decided, quite maturely, that he had collected enough. It was Saturday night, daylight savings time, so I let him stay up as late as he wanted to enjoy his! 🍫 I passed out after 9. 🤣

The hubby parked himself on the front porch.

It has been a busy few weeks – as we all adjusted to new routines brought about by T’s move into middle school.

While it has been an adjustment – at times exhausting – I’m grateful it has been mostly ok.

T is getting used to new routines, to being in a larger school and to navigating friendships.

We recently had curriculum night and visited the school and met his teachers.

We spent the most time in the music room, where the teacher let T try the cello – pictured at top. All Grade 6 kids will try strings instruments. Maybe this will be the start of a new interest. 🎵

Whether a perfect mark or 70%, we celebrate all progress.

The biggest ongoing challenge we have is the increased volume of work.

While T has an IEP, there is a lot of homework – and the oppositional behaviour, battle and meltdown that often result from trying to complete the work is draining.

T struggles with organization and does not write tasks down in his agenda. We feel the impact of not having a CYW support this year.

We’re thankful his teachers keep us updated through Google Classroom, which we rely on to keep him on task.

The hubby and I do our best to work as a team and to keep our eyes focused on the bigger picture.

We believe in T and that belief is what gets us through the challenging moments.

You’ll recall T recently completed a music playlist presentation assignment. I’m very proud to say that he got a perfect mark – 25/25! 🥰

Check out his teacher’s glowing comments below posted on Google Classroom. 💕

We’re so proud. 🥰

The hard heavy moments often distract us from the many things we have to be thankful for.

During last month’s Thanksgiving weekend, we met up with T’s foster family for lunch. It was the first and only time we’ve seen each other this year.

T and his foster brother had fun at the trampoline park while the grownups caught up.

We’ve made plans for a sleepover for the boys over the holidays – which will be here before we know it.

T often forgets to bring things home from school, but he did remember to bring home a Thanksgiving assignment he completed.

And I’m thankful that he did. 🙏

“Love can’t be erased.” Indeed.

23 thoughts on “Season of Love”

    1. Thanks Michelle. It’s good to reminded that challenges are par of the course and to focus on and build on the things that are going well. 😊 And glad to make you laugh. It really was the first thing I thought of when the hubby shared the plans with me.

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  2. One parent stays to deliver the goods, the other parent helps with the trick or treating. It is cool when you hear kids talk about your house!!! “Did you hit the house on the corner? They gave out the best candy!!! We gotta go back. They won’t notice will they?” Ha ha!

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  3. Mostly okay sounds pretty good for any child adjusting to a new situation. I remember the work load increasing a lot when our son hit middle school.

    I just returned from a funeral in Chicago where I saw lots of family. One of my cousins has taken up the cello in retirement.

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  6. So glad T had fun and that you got to bed at a decent hour Ab! Huge congratulations to him on his big assignment and on the math skills. We tend to see much of the forgetfulness you mention with the older grand and her ADHD. There have been great days and really bad days and the consistency is always in question. Fingers crossed for T to keep improving!

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    1. Thanks Deb. Consistency is certainly the goal but as you said, often elusive. So we focus and celebrate on the great days. 🙏 I hope your grandkids are having a great school year otherwise. 😊

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      1. I think they are both liking things Ab. The older was “placed” in French even though that wasn’t her language choice but has managed to work with her advisor to get where she wanted to be to begin with. The younger, as a 5th grader, is being prepped heavily for middle school next year. She has mixed feelings as they are trying out the multiple teachers concept a bit for some classes 🙂

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      2. It’s a good thing they’re doing heavy prep this year. Hope it bodes well for a smoother transition next year. And good luck with the French classes!

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  7. Your hubby is the best! It was always so exciting as a kid to arrive at a home with extra generous handouts.

    I love the photo of T playing the cello, and look forward to a future report about a newfound hobby, maybe. 😉

    Also, I love that you keep in contact with T’s foster family. What a gift that is to them and for T.

    “Love can’t be erased.” I know he can be handful, Ab, but gosh what an incredible sweet boy you and the hubby are raising. The Thanksgiving assignment has me tearing up. Keep up the great work! ❤️

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    1. Thanks Erin. I do think our handouts were a bit over the top but it gives the hubby joy to do this once a year, so I let him have his fun. 🎃🍫

      T does have a truly kind heart and it’s what we focus on when we go through the rougher patches. 🙏

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  8. Ugh! So much work! Middle School is such a game changer for all of you. I promise you that by June you’ll look back and say “was there ever any doubt?” I had chills reading T’s note at the end. Love cannot be erased. For sure. Sending love! ❤️

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    1. Thanks Karen. It’s always a journey, as you know, and looking back at the road traveled certainly provided needed perspective. I really can’t wait until June arrives! 😊

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  9. Sometimes…isn’t it the best thing EVER to say things are “mostly okay”? Especially as busy as you’ve all been! 😉😉😉
    And…you win! Best one-liner, giggle, guffaw of the day here about your Halloween fare:
    “Word quickly got out that our house was handing out Diabetes….”
    Too funny!
    Hugs and love to all! 💝💝💝

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    1. Thanks Vicki. The diabetes line was the first thing that came to mind for me. We should’ve handed out insulin shots too. 🤣 All kidding aside, it was a wonderful Halloween and hope you all had a nice one too. 🎃

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      1. Haha! Insulin, too. You crack me up! 🤪
        We had a fun Halloween—so nice to see people in celebratory moods and the little ones in their first Halloween costumes—trying to figure out what the heck is going on—is fabulous. 🤪❤️🤪

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