Good morning :)

I sometimes find that as a mother I view my children as blank canvases.
In the most loving way of course...

I mean that there are moments when their actions surprise me, when they create a picture for me I never knew possible.
Their abilities to function in every day life...to truly blossom outside their exterior.
Simple things.

I am constantly floored by my daughter, as she tends to come up with new skills by the day.
I watch her get herself ready in the mornings...pick out her clothes, get dressed, brush her hair...
I watch her sit on the couch by herself looking at a book talking to herself about all the things she sees...
I watch her sit down next to her brother and snuggle up to him while they watch a movie together...
It is wonderful.

So, today I had to walk Kannon to his classroom as he was late...daddy's fault :)
Anyways, as we walked up to his classroom I watched in awe as he took his own backpack off, hung it up on a hook outside the class under a plastic laminated name card that did in fact say "kannon", then he preceded to take out his lunchbox, daily journal folder and walk into class with a smile on his face and said "good morning" to all his teachers/aides...

I was left standing outside with the biggest smile on my face.
He then turned around, looked at me and said "goodbye mom...I love you"

Really?
My son, who just 3 years ago couldn't say "I love you"...
Couldn't say anything really, in fact if memory serves me he had a vocabulary of 10 words.
My son who at age 5 was still in diapers...still needed help with feeding himself...still unable to walk by himself without bolting off into the distance any chance he got...

Now look at him.

He is functioning.
He is able to do his classroom routine without my help...without any prompting...without me.
It was so wonderful to see all of this.

It may seem small to most people, but believe me as a mother to a child with Autism it is moments like this that give your very much aching heart a big hug...
It validates all the hard work we do every single day in hopes our children will and can function in society...even if it is moment by moment.

As small as an act it was doesn't matter in the scheme of things.

What matters is that there is hope.

What a great start to my day...

What a beautiful little man I am raising.
He is truly just what my heart needed in this life.

Count your blessings every day...every moment...they are all around you if you allow them in, no matter how small they may seem.
Sometimes they may be the path to a great journey ahead.
That's what my heart would like to believe...

peace.