A New Journey... Part One

For a while now I have been writing about God's hand in our lives, and a new journey we have begun. It has taken me almost four months to even begin to put all of my thoughts together in order to share this. First off, I must give some history, so you may understand the BIG picture!

From birth, Caterpillar was FULL of life and love! What an awesome blessing he has been in our daily lives since January 13th, 2000! From the moment we learned I was expecting, I too was full of life, love and joy! Perhaps this is where it all began for him!

As an infant, he was an easy baby. He loved to be cuddled, and enjoyed a routine from the start. When things got a little 'off course', he would get a little fussy, but we managed whatever life brought, and adapted. He was a very happy baby, always smiling! All of his milestones were pretty much on target. HOWEVER, he did not speak as much as I expected he should when he was two, and even two and a half. His pediatrician assured me that as long as he was trying, and communicating his needs, not to worry. He was a boy, ALL BOY, and would catch up to Mama in no time! So we worked at it, encouraging him to speak and express his needs and wants more. By three, he was talking in complete sentences. Yet, at the age of three, I began to see more frustrations in him. He was still a very happy little boy, very active and always busy, but easily frustrated in his communication efforts.

In the fall of 2003, I enrolled him into a three day a week morning preschool program. At the time, I thought it would be good for him. I believed the socialization and interaction with other children would be benefical, especially since he was an only child. After about a month, his preschool teacher mentioned to me that he had not been having very good days. I wondered, what does she mean by that? So when I asked, she continued to explain that he was having difficulty sharing, taking things from other children, not waiting his turn, not staying seated, rolling around on the floor and so forth. So I shared with her, that he was an only child, all boy, and those concerns were part of why we enrolled him, wanting to help him with these skills. We plugged along. Day by day. Some days were good, others not so much. Yet he was three, and ALL BOY!

By Christmastime, I was beginning to sense her frustrations with him, which really bothered me. I knew she had a classroom of 15 preschoolers, and three hours of managing that could certainly be stressful. After the first of the year, I knew in my heart there was more to this picture. When I picked him up one cold blustery day at noon, I knew something was wrong! The look on his preschool teacher's face, and tone in her voice spoke volumes to me. She said to me, "I don't know what happened to him today, but I have NEVER seen anything like it before in my whole life!" I raised my eyebrows, and I am sure the puzzled and awkward look on my face said enough. I simply responded "Okay!" and drove off. I cried the whole way home. This woman had no desire to teach, care for or love my child. It was obvious, and it scarred me for a LONG time!

My husband and I had a meeting with her, as well as the Director of the preschool. We ended up pulling him out a week later. That was one of the best decisions of my life! Obviously, Caterpillar was not ready, and they were merely interested in cookie cutter, shaped and molded children. Well, now I can say, with a smile and a giggle, my Caterpillar is as far from that as they come! It was obvious in their expectations, and Caterpillar was just not there. He is unique, precious, and a special gift from God! Do I regret putting him there; not really anymore. I know it was part of God's plan to reveal a unque puzzle to us, one piece at a time.