ROAR!

1st day of school (August 2013)

Today was the last day of Kindergarten. I've been dreading it for weeks. People keep asking me if I'm ready for the school year to be over. I always say that I want mine to desperately end and for Lucas's to last forever. He has had a WONDERFUL year, thanks in large part to his amazing teacher, Mrs. Burns. She always believed in him and always advocated for him. She also pushed him academically, and kept pushing. He's reading on a 2nd grade level. This mama couldn't be happier about that.

Kindergarten marks the end of his innocence to me. He's starting to ask me big questions. How does a baby get out of your belly? Is Santa Clause real? How does someone become deaf?

When he asks me questions about being deaf, I feel the amazing opportunity to help him see it in a positive light - to acknowledge his feelings about it (sad, frustrated, etc.), but to affirm the magic and the miracle of the cochlear implant. Tuesday night we talked about getting to meet Graeme Clark someday soon, maybe even next February at the Cochlear Celebration. I want to meet him so badly to thank him, to shake his hands, and probably to cry uncontrollably in his arms.

But, Lucas is still my little boy who wants me to cuddle with him every night, so I'm still cherishing those moments. Wednesday morning he asked me if I would come and visit him when he's in college. I agreed if he goes to Penn State and lets me spend the night in his dorm room. It was a deal.

I could spend hours telling you about the great things that Mrs. Burns did with her Kindergarten class this year, but one thing comes to mind immediately. She took popular radio songs and taught them to the kids, and let them listen and dance to them. The one song was Happy by Pharrell Williams. They would form a big circle and each student got to dance in the middle. This is how they started their day on a happy note. The other was Roar by Katy Perry. With Roar, they talked about perseverance, and wrote poetry. Check out Lucas's poem:

Lucas has spent the last 4 months obsessed with this song. We're constantly watching it on YouTube, trying to find it on Pandora, and just singing it freestyle. Nora likes to sing it too. To me, it's so much more than a catchy song. It's an anthem for his year. It's an announcement of his capability instead of his disability. It's him shouting from the rooftops that he's a force to be reckoned with. I love it. Here he is - I think his smile and enthusiasm say it all.

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath

Scared to rock the boat and make a mess

So I sat quietly, agreed politely

I guess that I forgot I had a choice

I let you push me past the breaking point

I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice you hear that sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Get ready 'cause I've had enough

I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

'Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

'Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar

oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh

You're gonna hear me roar

© Katy Perry

You did it, buddy. I hope that your love for school, learning and life continues. You make us very proud. You are a champion, and we hope to continue to hear you roar.

last day of school (June 2014)