I worried about his ability to enjoy this since last year was such a dismal failure. No really, I am serious. He was INCAPABLE of participating and just clung to his father and cried and cried for the entire event. It was unfortunate that we did not realize the extent of his traumatic past at that time. We later learned that his previous family had ALWAYS found a reason to punish him at "exciting" events like this and he would be punished by not being allowed to participate. It stands to reason he would have a lot of anxiety around such an event. Two weeks later we saw a repeat of the behavior...at his 5th birthday party. Well, his age 5 party...but apparently his FIRST party from what we can tell. Anyway, with the hubby and K3 on a special "one-on-one" trip to California, I was worried about managing K7's strong emotions by myself. I waited until the last minute to walk to the park to minimize his excitement level. I was stupid to worry.
As soon as he got the "ok...go!" he was off and running. My heart swelled with pride as I reminisced on the growth I have seen in this guy in the last year. A little unconditional love, some undivided attention from loving parents, being doted on by numerous siblings for a year, and some extra help from some amazing school interventionists has truly led to an energetic, athletic and confident little boy.
I don't often share personal pictures and videos, in part to protect my children, but also to respect their privacy. However, today as my heart swells with love and pride, I can not resist sharing these images with you. In fact, here is one last one...a video. I dare you not to laugh out loud.
Perhaps we should rethink our advice to "use your head" when you run into difficult tasks.
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