The Childlike wonder at Sweetwater Episcopal Academy and the pilgrimage to it!

“He could be President one day.” I smiled back thinking to myself, “he’s not even eight pounds.” Still, like an apple falling onto Sir Isaac Newton’s head, we knew. Our purpose on this earth was to love, raise and protect this perfect soul curled in our arms and whoever, just as perfect, that came next would join us in our bliss. Everything else, we didn’t see coming.

"Brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough… brick walls let us to show our dedication”. Twenty-two words spoken by the late Carnegie Mellon alumnus and professor Randy Pausch in The Last Lecture transformed my perspective, right before we hit a series of brick walls. When our perfect child was diagnosed with Autism, and at every stumbling block afterwards, twenty-two words served as my beacon of light. Last spring when I hit my “over my dead body” threshold as a mother, it sparked a major change. To calibrate, 76 minutes of that Mother’s Day was dedicated to watching Pausch’s The Last Lecture again. My motivation to get my perfect child and his just as perfect brother on to a better path caught fire and the growth they have made this year has been profound. A year later, I have become one with this pilgrimage.

“Never lose the childlike wonder... the permission to dream is huge.” Saint Husband and I cannot protect our boys from everything, but we will not be futile either. Our perfect child’s self esteem was so low at age seven that he had lost his inspiration to dream. Accordingly, we went on some tours. AND THEN, an entire school walked out of a church and all the kids were happy. Every child was enthusiastically singing, skipping, laughing or talking. Saint Husband and I were surrounded by so much childlike wonder, we returned our application and fee within a matter of minutes.

“Your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care.” Our just as perfect child, known for his strong will, inherited it from his mother. Firsthand, I know the resolute are headstrong and are not naturally open to criticism. Saint Husband spent years teaching me the importance of self-reflection, and I finally listened. I now welcome what I previously dreaded, as a significant part of our children’s progress is merited to receiving honest feedback from their teachers.

“Don’t bail, the best of the gold is at the bottom of barrels of ...” This past year has been hard work. The expectations and demands on Saint Husband, perfect child, just as perfect child, and myself were more difficult than we expected. We just worked harder. Pilgrimages are arduous, yet the ultimate reward of getting our children where they need to be is worthy of the sacrifice.