Sash -er, Alex - 'the Onion'

My oldest son's annual meeting with his teachers was today. I usually dread these because Sash is the kind of kid that you either A) get and appreciate every ounce of his dry sense of humor or B) don't get and don't like. Unfortunately, a lot of his previous teachers have fallen in the latter category and I usually leave these meeting wanting to scream, "What's wrong with you?? He's a CHILD and YOU'RE the adult!!" This year was a wonderful surprise, from all of his teachers - especially his beautiful art teacher commenting that she "knows he has many layers." Finally! Teachers get my kid! And he was dismissed from Speech! So I decided we needed to celebrate; Kase and I took him to the Melting Pot. What a great night - we got to focus on just him and really talk to him. It reaffirmed what I already knew; he's an awesome, complex, handsome, funny kid and I am so lucky that he's my son. It also reminded me that I need to do this way more, with all my kids because their time with me is running short and they will soon be off to college and beyond with little room left on their calendars for ol' mom. A fellow teacher who is a brilliant mother once posted something that has stuck with me. While writing this post, I tried to find it for the exact wording and of course, can't. The gist of it is - the cat's in the cradle, you can't make what never was... basically form a relationship with your kids while they're kids! I'm trying and I'll be the first to admit that some days I feel quite inadequate. I hope they will see that I try and be forgiving of my shortcomings when they're in therapy. :-)