Reinventing Us...

This was the first time I got to hold you - really hold you - after you were born.  

And each day thereafter for the thirty days you were in the NICU.  

And all day and most of the night when you came home.

When it was just you and me, I would whisper promises in your tiny ears.  I promised that I would always try to figure things out for you.  Figure out what you needed.  Figure out the best way to help you.  Figure out the best doctors to see you.  Figure out the ways you liked to be entertained.  What made you smile...what made you sleep...what motivated you. 

I promised that I would always be your student.  I would research and learn and and figure out feeding tubes, hearing aids, genetic syndromes and all the medical issues that would crop up along the way.  But mostly, I would let you lead.  I knew that you would teach me all I really needed to learn.  And you have.  You were a patient and gentle teacher - perfect for this first time Mommy.

You and I have been a great Mother/Son team for the last 4 years, 10 months and 29 days. (I guess it's a good thing I stopped making these monthly signs at year 2!)

I have fought fiercely for you along the way and so far have been able to get you just about everything you needed - or we've been told you needed.  I've made decisions that I believed were in your best interest, some that weren't very popular - like not succumbing to the pressure to have a G-Tube placed or letting your bare feet feel the floor and not feel braces all day long or keeping you home from pre-school last year so you could get stronger.  I've been in your face a lot - and given you space to play and be 'you' a lot, too.

I have been very protective of you.  Making sure people around you wash their hands.  Not allowing shoes in the house out of respect for you - who spends most of your happy time on the floor.  Being hypervigilant of other people's sniffles and sneezes and keeping you far away.  The two of us even donned "Swine Flu Masks" when we went out in public during that outbreak.  Yes, I am pretty over protective.  And proud of it.

  

But when your body was weak and you were in trouble, we healed together.  I've never left your side.

This Mother-Son dance has been a learning experience for both of us.  And even though you led the dance - I chose the song.  And I did the singing.  But all of that is about to change.

Tomorrow morning, I will watch you get onto a bus.  And that bus will drive away.  Starting tomorrow, you will begin to have experiences that don't include me.  I will be told what you did that day by someone else.  I will read notes about your therapy sessions.  There will no longer be thousands of photos a day.  (Note to self:  invest in a long, zoom lens and find a good tree outside of the school)

We will be reinventing us, Gavin.  I will still be your dance partner at home...with the songs I've always sung and the moves I've always had. 

But I know that you will come home each day with new favorite songs and new favorite moves and, once again, I will be happy to let you lead.  It is very hard for this Mommy to watch you go.  Hard for me to give up my job of "keeping you safe...happy...healthy...and progressing" as well as I can.  Hard for me to think that I'll miss a "first" or a laugh.  Hard for me to imagine that I won't be there to comfort you if you're sad or hurt.  But I know this is the right thing for you - and I know that we will both be fine.  I feel it in my heart.  This is right.

As you go to school and meet the first of many teachers you will have from now on...

...I want you to know that you are the best teacher that I've ever had.

I love you so much, Gavin David Leong.

Love, Mommy

The Carnival King! (And other tales of success...)

Last night, Ed and I took the boys to a local carnival!  We thought BOTH of them would love it.  Brian would love the games and the ice cream...and Gavin would be all over the rides.  Well, we were half right.  Poor Gavin was having an "off" night and was sensitive to the noise, the crowds, the noise... there were a lot of pouty faces toward the end that caused us to call it a night.

But not before we had crowned Brian the KING OF THE CARNIVAL!!!! 

 He definitely takes after his Dad on this one.  Ed has always loved carnival games.  And over the years, I have had the joy of loving my big (huge is more like it), adorable (God those stuffed animals are cheap at carnivals), soft (they are so disgusting - can you even imagine the process of getting them from carnival to carnival???) stuffed prizes.  And boy, were they prizes.  (not)  I appreciated each and every one (so not) until they experienced an untimely death.  It was too bad.  (not soon enough)

Where was I?

We were very impressed with Brian's skills last night.  He had technique that would have impressed my Dad at the adult sized basketball game- 

And he charmed his way through the kid basketball game...

 ...inspiring the nice worker to give him a lift to the basket.

He played plinko with Daddy... 

 ...and was amazingly good at a bean bag toss.  He left with Ed's arms filled with toys and games (one cheaper than the next - but he loved them!)  

 And he even shared with Gavin!

A highlight of the night was getting a tour of a real firetruck.  Brian was a little too scared to go inside, but he loved looking at it from the outside!  Both boys got brand new fire hats from a real fireman, too, which was very cool.

This afternoon I took the boys for their "back to school" haircuts!  Or, Gavin's "first day of school" haircut, I should say.  Gavin looks very grown up, don't you think?

He will officially start school on Monday with Miss Sara!  They will get picked up by the school bus in the morning - and then Brian and I will pick them up after lunch.  Tomorrow all four of us are going to the bus depot.  They were nice enough to agree to a tour of his school bus before his first day!

Brian goes back to school tomorrow - same school, same teachers.  He's very excited.  It will be a big potty training test!  He's been doing great - only wearing pull-ups (we call them special underpants) at naptime and diapers at bedtime.

I was very happy with Brian's haircut today, too, and even learned a new boy haircut term.  A "fade."  Miss Silvia gave him a "fade" in the back and he looks so adorable.  I'm also very happy to report that Brian's acting skills are just getting better and better.  He went from this...

 to THIS in ten seconds!!  So convincing!

I also had a huge (hugely embarrassing) success.  I just found my diamond earring.  Hooray!!  Ummm....it was in my large bin that houses boxes and packages of tampons and pads.  Because that's just so obvious.

You have to admit, I keep things interesting.