His Hero...

Remi recently brought home a writing assignment in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11. As his class talked about the men and women who will remain heroes forever in the sacrifice they made for our country, each student was encouraged to write about their hero.

This was one of those papers that immediately had me in tears.

Remi wrote about me. To him, at 10 years old, I am his hero. Talk about feeling honored. Often, my work of service to my family, can go unnoticed. I will tell you something about my Remi, it rarely goes unnoticed by him. He truly appreciates my tasks that are done unseen. His heart it so full and so deep in love and appreciation for me.

This little paper had my emotions all over the place, not only because being a hero in the eyes of your son is a very heartwarming place to be, but also because, the way Remi writes is always a little heartbreaking and sweet to me. This a very personal piece of his heart that I want to share. I want you to see what it is like to be dyslexic and be asked to write a paper. I want you to see how very real the struggle is and how it seems to weave its way into tasks we all take for granted. I am not sure Remi's little brilliant mind could be matched by anyone, but if you were to judge him by this paper, you might just think him to be behind in his education. You might be just a bit too quick to judge this little boy.

Please don't do that.

Dyselxia is so misunderstood. Along this journey, I have come to realize very few people have real understanding and compassion for Dyslexics unless they are first-hand affected by it. Unless you live with someone who suffers daily from the challenges it brings, it is hard to really understand how it literally affects everything you do.

This is a little imperfect piece of perfection by a boy who, I predict, will do great things in his future. A boy who doesn't always get his chance to shine, who may spell well below his grade level, but a boy who has a heart full of wonderful things to say if we will only listen.



"Heros are people like police, firemen, army and military.
None of those are my hero.
My hero is my mom.
She is my hero because she feeds me and she cooks for me.
She takes care of me and helps me on homework when I need it.
She plays with me.
She cares for me."

Long gone are the days where I take for granted the gift of being able to pick up a book and read until my heart's content or the ability to write with ease. The struggles Remi has had to face have made him a brave soul, covered in a hard shell of protection from those who don't understand, never bowing to be defined by what he can't do, but instead, standing tall day after day, putting on his layer of determination and proving to us all, that he won't let this defeat him.

Oh Remi, you, my sweet boy, are my hero too.