infant wishes

You know that moment when your child is first placed in your arms, and you look down into those eyes and you see their future....and it's that moment when you begin dreaming dreams for them. Few have ever in those first moments whished that their child would excel in conversations with adults - but struggle with their peers, and breeze thru kindergarten but struggle for the remaining 12 years of school, trying to fit their square peg selves into the round holes of society. No you dream of birthday parties and bon fires, semi formals and sports teams, of watching them walk into their first prom and then finally of graduation. For some of us those things are never meant to be. Our kids never really seem to fit in to the big picture, and they shun those things that are typical to their peers. Would be go back and change them if we could - probably not - we enjoy the observations and the laughs we get from our kids who not only think outside the box - but live out there. But that doesn't mean that our hearts don't tear a bit when we see kids enter restaurants dressed for their school dances and drive by graduation parties wishing that they were in our own backyard. I know my graduation moment will be here in just over 8 weeks, and on that day this weekend will seem but a blip and I will stand tall and I will shed tears of joy as my son walks across the parade deck and earns the right to call himself a United States Marine. But for now - like many many other parents - I mend my heart and dry my eyes and like so many other times I move myself forward knowing that one day my child will find his way and make his mark in a way that only he can.