G Man

 

 

Well, today is a big day for my kids! My eldest G Man is going to early college orientation. He is technically a junior but with all these new cool programs (wish they had them when I was young) he can get college credits and a high school diploma, the same time! Free college, does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out! Free books as well,  just love all the books that I paid a small fortune for collecting dust on my bookshelf.

 

 

G Man is complicated and probably to be honest, more like me than any of my children. 16 years ago he came out looking like the carbon copy of my husband and that hasn't changed. I struggle to even notice any thing physical that is like me but I have unfortunately decided that he does have my big behind (poor kid). He is an introvert, enjoys writing, loves history, is opinionated, but at the same time will go on stage and perform in front of a crowd of people. He is not one for big crowds and enjoys time to himself. Presto, that is my carbon copy! I hope this experience works well for him, my middle child that seems to gravitate towards any direction that is not mainstream.

 

 

J Man my youngest is going to get tested with a reading specialist. He is an amazing kid with all the issues he started with. He has Dandy Walker which caused a small part of his brain to not develop.  As a result, the space fills with fluid which causes hydrocephalus, fluid on the brain. It can kill you to have too much fluid on the brain so the shunt drains it to the stomach. He has only two shunt surgeries and one shunt infection, scary stuff. Consequently, J man has worked hard to get through every major milestone and has been in therapy since he was one. He is now ready for a reading specialist because his brain is ready to learn. These kids have weaknesses on one or both sides of the brain and with extensive therapy they have to balance out these areas. It used to be that J Man would read to me but when I showed him the same word in a different context, he was unable to sound out the word. The kid was so amazing, memorizing every word from a book. He is now able to sound out words in many different books. People ask me why are you getting a specialist when you are a teacher. J Man is cognitively impaired and I am a learning disabled teacher. It is a different ball park. Plus, I make J Man read with me every day.

 

We are so blessed to have the people we have in our lives and my three boys are completely different from each other. It is a colorful world we live in and I am so thankful.