I was just thinking about the end of the year activities for Trinity and realized that if Tiara was still attending school she would be graduating from 8th grade in a few weeks. How did that happen? Wow, I can’t believe that she is supposed to be going to high school in September. I never imagined her being 14 and making it to high school, I honestly didn’t believe she would live that long.
She will technically still be a freshman in the Fall, but she will only be in school one hour each day at our kitchen table. A teacher will continue to come to our house Monday through Thursday and help her learn her colors, count to 10, write her name, match shapes and objects and eventually learn to identify letters.
As I write this I imagine what I have said may make some of you feel sad, but it shouldn’t. I don’t feel sad that she is still learning to count to 10 and neither does she. She is really proud of herself when she makes it to 10 with only 1 mistake. She always forgets 7. Sometime we think she is just tricking us. She loves triangles and diamonds and her favorite color is blue. Her favorite books are Rainbow Fish, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Basically, she is still in preschool and has been there her whole life even though every year she moves up a grade. Tiara is a super happy 8th grader who spends most of her days sleeping, listening to music, watching TV, and coloring. Not much different than a typical teenager except a few major points.
No one is harassing her get straight A’s. She doesn’t have to pass the Math and English entrance exams with scores high enough to qualify her to take Biology and Geometry freshman year. If she didn’t score high enough she would have to worry about the fact that if she took Algebra I and Life Science as a freshman she may not get into a UC School. OMG, the world might end. She doesn’t have to decide whether she should take French or Spanish. She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to get up at 6am and take a “zero period” so she can squeeze in that extra elective and still have time for sports. She doesn’t play volleyball 4 hours a day just to make the team and hope to see the court during games. Her parents aren’t paying for extra volleyball training during the summer, in addition to the regular training, so she can increase her potential to receive a scholarship. She doesn’t have to pull all nighters studying for a exam or to finish a project. She doesn’t have to take the SAT, ACT or decide which AP classes to take. She won’t ever fill out a college application or do 40 hours of community service to graduate high school. She won’t ever have to worry about getting a job or supporting herself. Everything she will ever need, she will have. Food, Shelter, Medicine and Love.
Despite all her medical and mental struggles, Tiara has something most people don’t. She does what she wants everyday and doesn’t have to worry about her future. How many people can say that about their lives? Not me. I know the flip side of the coin. It is everything that she won’t be able to experience because of her mental delay, but I choose to ignore all that. I have 2 healthy girls so I can obsess on their futures. Lucky for them. Funny enough, because of Tiara, Tabitha and Trinity are only required to always try their best. No straight “A”‘s in the G0ff house. I once heard it is the B students who rule the world, hope it is true.
Happy Tuesday…….
Tiffani… understandably so, it’s nearly impossible for a parent of a “typical” kiddo to want anything but for their kid to be above average. For parents like us, “normal” is but a dream. One this is for sure, we appreciate every single step that our kids make. Happy 8th grade graduation, Tiara!