But today I’d like to push someone else—my son Jonathan.
“Aww great,” you might mumble. “Next she’ll slap a picture of a kitten on this entry and I’ll vomit from all the cuteness.” Before you reach for the trashcan, rest assured that it’s not going to be that kind of writing; not today at least.
I wish for both Jonathan and my sake that he had a typical entry into this world, but if you follow this blog you know he didn’t. After forty hours of non-productive labor (twice his heart rate dropped dramatically) Jonathan was born via C-section.
As a result of his difficult start, years later my son had delays in speech and gross/fine motor skills. Every parent believes that their child will exceptional: that kid who wins the game for the soccer team; a winner of a national spelling bee. I knew I’d be lucky if my sweet boy could hold a crayon or have a conversation.
Jonathan inherited mine and my husband’s tenacity, and even as a toddler giving up wasn’t an option. True, sometimes crayons were hidden under couch cushions in attempts to avoid the dreaded coloring-in-the-lines-with-Mommy sessions, but his desire to overcome his disability even astounded his therapists when tearfully he’d ask to “do it again” if he failed a task.
I won’t bore you with details conserving my son’s accomplishments during his school years—there were many. But the child who had difficulty speaking during toddler years won a third-place ribbon in the area 4H speech competition.
In high school he was recognized for his large amount of community service and decorated with numerous Jr. ROTC awards including the Daughters of the Revolution and the Tuskegee Airman awards. Hands that once found it difficult to hold a crayon, lovingly held a camera and became a statewide winning photographer.
But there’s more to my child than just determination—he has an abundance of empathy and heart. Recently, he wrote an artist’s statement for a contest stating: