Last Day of School 2019...

Thursday, was the last day of school, officially making Roen a 3rd Grader and Remi a 4th Grader. This year flew by double-speed it seems!

It was a huge year of growth for both of my boys. It was the year we realized how far behind in Reading Roen was and was then diagnosed with mild dyslexia. It was the year that started very rocky for Remi. It was the year that Remi had to work through getting made fun of because it takes him longer to read and complete his morning work than his peers. It was the year that Roen brought home a 'C' on his progress report, and it was the year that Remi brought home his very first 'C' on his report card in Reading. It was the year we learned to advocate for our Remi and finally got him on plan so that he could receive the accommodations he needs. It was a year full of tears, hard work, spelling words that were just never going to be memorized, meetings with teachers, and somehow finding the strength to get through homework that sometimes took hours... and then sometimes putting homework in backpacks undone, because you know in your heart your child just cannot do it anymore. It was a year of finding the balance between school expectations and having realistic expectations of what my child could handle. It was a year of being strong through the tears. It was a year of prayer and humility.

But...

It was also the year that Roen not only met every single AR goal but crushed it every 6 weeks. It was the year that Remi's locker was covered in PE magnet trophies. It was the year that Remi received the Art Award. It was the year that together with lots of work, Remi was also able to reach all of his AR goals. It was the year that both boys made the Chess UIL team and the year that Remi brought home the 2nd Place medal. It was the year that we learned our little Roen is a math whiz. It was the year that Roen had me buy multiple book series because despite his slow pace in Reading, nothing dampens his competitive spirit. It was the year that Remi got up in front of the class and did presentation after presentation when it was optional... while reading off of cards we practiced over and over at home. It was the year that I saw what Remi was made of. It was the year that I saw him push harder than I ever have before. It was the year that he ran the 5K with his best friend and the year he finally- even if only once- got a perfect Spelling Test score. It was the year that we learned that Roen can memorize spelling words like nobody's business. It was a year with wonderful teachers, the best of friends and a year I will always treasure. The hard times made the good so satisfying.

There was absolutely nothing better than watching Remi's face as he learned he got 2nd place in his UIL event, when so much of his school day makes him feel like he is just not good enough. That look as he realized that he is not defined by the things he cannot do, but can instead build a foundation on the things he can do exceptionally well.

What a wonderful year of survival, thriving and high fives over our victories!



Roen's class had an Ice Cream Party so I got to be with him the last hour of the day...











After school, we headed out to the lake where we met up with our closest and celebrated the beginning of summer just by being together...