My Other Son

A haircut and the Honor Roll all in one week...Ok, what's going on? What does he want?

Tonight he came home and did his homework without being asked. He brought home a great report card this week and we couldn't be more proud of him. I love that the Doodle has Jimmy as an example. He's a great big brother to him and he is really protective and kind. I think having a special needs brother has taught Jimmy to be more tolerant and patient. There's a boy in Jimmy's class that gets teased a lot and Jimmy comes home and tells me how it bothers him and that he sticks up for him because the boy isn't very good at standing up for himself.

For a couple of days now he has been pestering me to take him to the bookstore and buy him some new books, he has a favorite author...and actually WANTS to read! For the first time in his life, he likes to read. I'm so happy. So we went to the store and he picked out a couple of books and has been reading ever since. He just reported to me that he is on page 44.

He's got basketball tryouts this Sunday and I know he's really excited about that. He excels at everything he enjoys...heavy emphasis on the "enjoys" part.

I think I'm so consumed with the Doodle and his lack of progress and development that I sometimes forget to acknowledge Jimmy's accomplishments. I expect so much from him and it's not always fair to him. He's had to deal with a lot for a 10 year old and grow up pretty fast, taking care of himself because the Doodle needs so much extra care. I wish I could slow it down and keep him ten for a while longer.

I'm so grateful that I had 7 years of just Jimmy. For seven years he had us both all to himself, he was an only child. I hope he never feels like he was just "my other son".