Bretty the Great and Mighty Warrior!

This morning as Chloe and I walked back from the barn, the sun was slowing rising in the east hidden by clouds predicting rain.  Rain didn't seem odd for a day like today.  Since our meeting last week with the doctor, I've been foggy in my head.  The weather decided to mimic my brain as we drove to San Antonio stopping along the way for patches of rain and stacking traffic.  At one juncture we witnessed the aftermath of a Honda Civic that had caught fire and filled half of the expressway.  Traffic slowed to catch a glimpse of the hot mess.  There didn't seem to be any other cars involved and the two inhabitants of the Civic stood next to the first responders,  talking on their cell phones with arms waving.  I suspect they were retelling the story of the inferno.  I was happy to see them in good spirits and safe.

The inferno did cause a large back up which later translated as a five minute late arrival to the 9 am doctor's appointment.  Chloe and I were up early to milk while Brett remained in bed until fifteen minutes prior to our departure.  His excitement of coming to the doctor caused him to sleep restlessly and ended up sneaking in to my bed at around 5am.  It took him about twenty minutes to finally settle in to sleep where he remained until I removed the blankets from his cozy, warm little boy self fifteen minutes before our ETD (estimated time of departure).

Chloe helped me pack him a lunch of soup, sandwich, Milano cookies, fruit nuggets, and strawberry slices.  He prepared a water bottle the night before to make sure the water was also suitable for Mr. White's travel cage.  The doctor was not going to have much luck with Brett unless I answered his plea to bring Mr. White along. 

At 9:05 am we entered the office with a frog in a travel aquarium, a mister spray bottle, a water bottle with a shoulder strap, a lunch box and a little boy.  I'm not sure why I describe him as a little boy when he has the capacity to pray better than any adult I know, but his age dictates a less than adult title. 

The doctor welcomed us in and I try to avoid looking as frustrated as I feel for having arrived five minutes late.  I do NOT like being late.  I allowed exactly fifteen extra minutes for traffic and instead I was served twenty minutes of inferno.  We sat down and I let out a sigh.  The doctor ignored my release knowing I was frustrated by my late arrival.  He excused the discretion and spoke to both Chloe and Brett kindly and respectfully.  He welcomed Mr. White to the meeting and found a suitable location for him near a large leafy plant to help him feel like he had returned to his native rain forest roots.  I'm sure Mr. White has never seen, and will  likely never see, the inside of a rain forest, but the doctor did his very best to make an effort to give him a close encounter.

It didn't take long for Brett to relax in to the setting and the voice of the doctor.  He explained that they would be doing stuff that resembled school, but was, for the most part, a way for us to figure out how to make school easier and more fun for Brett.  I watched Brett's eyes fill with an ounce of hope and also skepticism.  I smiled.  The doctor will have his hands full for the next four hours as he walks through a battery of tests to find any learning discrepancy.

Reading isn't easy and having an older child who is not only an avid reader, but a voracious reader, I never realized it was a difficult task for some.  I never had trouble reading as a child and being the third, and therefore the perfect, child I was way ahead of the curve in serious chase of my older  brother and sister.  I've always been competitive,  obviously.  Nevertheless, reading is not easy.  This year Brett and I have spent many hours crying and trying to break through some silent and invisible reading barriers.  Many of my friends have said, "He will out grow it." Or "It gets easier,  I promise."  It sort of feels like potty training.  It is close YET soooooo far away. 

With each passing year of school he falls farther and farther behind leaving me to question my parenting and also my child.  His school and teachers have been a great support system, offering assistance and extra tutoring to help build upon his classroom work.  At the end of the day he comes home exhausted and slightly defeated.  You might recall his homework hiding fiasco of 2013.  No less than twenty (20) homework sheets were stashed in his desk, never seeing the light of day until the teacher and I finally realized there was a discrepancy.  He was made to make up the work during his own time and an extra sheet daily until they were completed.   This can't happen for the rest of his life.  There has to be a solution.  A solution that does not include myself or Brett crying in desperation.

After lots of talking and listening we made an appointment to have him seen for a battery of tests to measure all sorts of things.   We want to rule out or accept any learning disabilities or processing issues and allow him to be successful in his work by attacking it at the base level.  I am NOT afraid of labels, but I do have a dislike for ignorance.  I can no longer be ignorant to my son's struggle.  The ignorance stopped today as Brett walked in to the doctor's office with Mr.White in hand. 

I am thankful for Brett, the small yet GREAT AND MIGHTY WARRIOR. (Day 190).  Goodnight Friends!

UPDATE:  Brett's test results came back and we have have a brilliant child who will read when he is good and ready.  No other issues or problems.  I know all those prayers from his Grandma Barbara(who is now in heaven) were not in vain.  Someday he will be an excellent reader.  For now, he is just on his own time.