"Mommy! You must come to my school!" My boy told me angrily.
I was puzzled initially at his outburst because I didn't understand what he meant. After some probing, I realised that he was referring to his orientation campfire where some (ok, maybe most) of his classmate's parents attended. Since it was stated that parents were only 'encouraged' to attend, I didn't. And he must have felt left out. His reactive response was probably one week delayed since relating events was an issue S had always struggled with, but ok, I got it. The message was received loud and clear.
I drowned in guilt for a few days after that.
That was in January this year. I had then apologised and solemnly promised him that I would attend his next school function, which would be today, since there was a mini Olympics cum National Day Observerance going on. Again, stated in the newsletter that I received earlier, were that parents were 'warmly welcomed' to support the event. (A cue that otherwise meant to me as 'You MUST attend'.) So I dutifully applied for leave, and we trotted off to school early in the morning.
There were already a sea of parents present when we arrived, and we had to search for awhile within the mass of identically looking children seated in haphazard rows on the parade square, before spotting him. After some mad waving to get his attention, he finally spotted us and waved back excitedly. You could see the instant he spotted us by the way his eyes lit up, and I felt an instant pang of regret in my heart by denying him this simple happy moment the first time I had missed attending.
There were some singing and cheering that followed, and some riotous organising of the children into their respective houses, before the games finally began.
I watched him listen for the horn and take off, manoeuvring expertly between the cones, doing a series of hops on one foot, execute a flawless forward roll, and bounce deftly on the ball, before finally making the dash back to his team-mates. I watched with tears glistening in my eyes and pride swelling in my heart. I was just so proud of him and so proud of the moment I caught of him.
His team didn't get the gold medal in the end. They achieved bronze, but he was beaming with pride with his medal nevertheless.
Watching him giving off his best and enjoying the school activities, I marvel at the improvements he has made and how far he has progressed since the earlier days. I remembered the drooling child who didn't know how to play with other children. I remembered the countless o.t sessions we ferried him to during his pre-school days. I remembered how he was on the first day of school, when he was still so unsure and uncertain of everything.
My boy with the developmental delays, who couldn't balance on one leg, had poor hand-eye coordination, and difficulty following simple instructions, had progressed so much and so far since then. And he made us very proud parents.
There is still a lot of room for improvements for him, and it will be a neverending process in trying to catch up with his peers. But when I look at the distance he has covered and the achievements he has made, I know that we will make the journey together, progressing little by little, in his own special way.
Till the next school function, and many more ahead.
I promise.
加油, my Son.
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