The school year is over.

The book bags hung up.

The pencils returned to their cases.

The boredom sets in.

The insanely hot weather.

The year of struggling for what was right.

IEPs and diagnoses and social anxieties.

In the midst of the struggles, wings emerged from a cocoon.

Some social advances were made – not many, but a few.

But there were wings…

Words on a page brought her in.  Drew her with their magnetism.  Something to love with words and stories.

Intelligence was her spotlight.  Math and reading brought her joy.  Her grades excelled in those areas.

In the end there were gains.  I’ve made peace with her being in school, though I still worry every day.

So I focus on the gains.

I watch her read, and teach her sister to read with joy.

To have her love what her Daddy and I both love so much.

In the end, we had some wonderful gains.