So many reasons to write and so little time....

Where to start...Well I have an amazing 15 year old son who is the boy who made me a mother.  He is really great, funny, smart, and really witty.  His good looks have been apparent ever since he was little and it feels like overnight he's turned into this gorgeous young man.  Watching him battle the trials and adventures in life are difficult and empowering all at the same time.  Raising him has been a great experience...preparing me to deal with his two sisters that follow him.

I also get a smack in the face reality check that says BEING A TEENAGER TODAY IS TOUGH!!

Having his sisters 4 years after him and then another 4.5 years after that has been trying on his patience.  Dealing with our youngest who looks to him for guidance and entertainment when all he wants to do is hide from her.  He has his own ideas of parenting and how he will be with his children one day.  Of course my darling son will do everything with a much stricter and format and he will stick to his word....unlike his lenient parents with these girls...ha ha.

My darling son has a hell of a time finding his path in the learning world.  The plethora of testing this boy has been through is outrageous beginning when he was in grade 2 and not finding any conclusion until he made his way to grade 10. He states that being tested all the time makes him feel separated from the class.  This wild year in grade 10 has finally brought him to a diagnosis of a learning disorder.  In order to be diagnosed with a learning disorder one needs to have a higher than normal intelligence in one or more testing areas and in his case an extreme low in another.  For my boy it is computing written information and expressing in written form.  He can verbally tell you all the right answers if he doesn't need to read to find them.  For example if he watches a movie and verbally answers a series of questions he is above average.  For years so many different professionals worked with him including two years of one on one homeschooling but within a very short period of time he would fall right back to where he was.  Along the way it's been very confusing because he is so compliant and such a great willingness to cooperate.  Great kid!  Now from this point forward he will do his tests verbally and his assignments will be on audio.  Even if it took years to accomplish these answers at least it is time for his college education.  It will all be supported until he graduates college.

In the confusion of trying to find his way through his high school courses without the supports that are now in place....marijuana found it's way into his world.  Sadly we learned after the fact that our darling son that spends almost no time away from us was finding a way to get high before class.  My boy is very clear that being high helps him concentrate.  He has asthma, it's not safe, the benefits do not outweigh the risks.  So that fragile base of trust with our teenager has been broken to some extent.  What an adventure we hoped we would never have to take yet.  So we have it all out in the open and it is said by our boy that there is not anymore "activity of substance abuse any longer".  He is under surveillance at school and we are very clear with the school that we will not tolerate further episodes.  Dealing with the reason for his desire is were we want to work on so that we can help instead of rule the iron fist.  I do believe he slipped through the cracks of the school system and was left to flounder too long with his learning disability.  We have all made it very clear to our boy that he is of high intelligence and it's an alternate way of learning.  FINALLY...answers.  Pressure from teachers who thought our boy should try harder was unfair to him and them.

Theres more in store for my boy and unfortunately he's now dealing with a VERY sad situation...BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD...