What Is Normal?

I sit and I wonder. What could I have done? Should I have gotten things checked out sooner? I can tell you, there have been MANY times I wondered if things were “normal,” but who’s to say what normal even is? We shouldn’t want to be in the norm, right? So I went with it. I embraced his differences and his quirkiness. I allowed myself to be exhausted day in and day out, because that’s just the little boy that he is…and has been for 4 years. He’s his very own, special little guy. He makes people laugh with his goofiness every day. But there have also been many frustrations. And I’ve tried to embrace those frustrations. Many days I would fall short. (Can we say…counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until it was nap time or bed time? 😬) I would tell myself, “someday this little boy is going to go far with being so strong willed. Such a free spirit.” I honestly can’t explain the type of kid he is. He is so very different from his 2 older brothers. But that’s what I’ve loved about him. That’s what I’ve loved about all of my children. They’re all so uniquely different from each other.

But then preschool came…and he’s not in the “norm.” He doesn’t fit into the status quo of where a 4 year old should be. What should I have done differently prior to preschool? I should have forced reading time. He wouldn’t sit for a book. Books were bought and books were destroyed. I should have done more activities to teach him his colors and numbers and animals and letters. He wouldn’t sit and do activities. He would chew on the crayons or the markers or just plain have NO interest. I should have had him sit and watch catchy shows that would help him learn. He wouldn’t even look at a TV screen no matter what was on. He wanted to be outside watching the golfers in our backyard. Every. Single. Day. He would cheer for them and they loved it! He was the neighborhood watch dog. Every morning he would escape outside to watch everyone leave for work and yell, ‘What you doing? Where you going?…OK! Have good day!”

But now preschool has started…

He had a preschool evaluation. And then a play based assessment to get a clearer picture of where he’s at developmentally. And he doesn’t fit into the box. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disagreeing with their evaluation and I LOVE his teacher and the team working with him and rallying for him. But it doesn’t change that he doesn’t fit into the box of “normal” or “average.”

What he does fit into is this:

Kylan Jack.

Different.

Unique.

Loving. He LOVES his Mama ❤️

Quirky.

Random.

Spirited.

Strong willed.

Funny.

Energetic.

Lover of Life.

Exploratory.

Challenging.

Exhausting.

A Blessing.

Kylan Jack, you are so very loved. Whatever path the good Lord has us on with you, your Mama and Dad will be there every step of the way. Kylan’s story isn’t over. It’s just beginning. And it’s going to be amazing. And wonderful. And hard. And long. But also short. And exhausting. But oh so very rewarding ❤️