This summer has been full of endings and new beginnings. I suppose you can’t have one without the other, an end of something naturally leads to a new beginning. Sometimes we know just when this is happening, like today as I’m watching my son mature and seeing him turn into a tween before my eyes.

I’m wafting nostalgic as summer is coming to an end and school starts next week. I’m also a proud Mom. My son, Luke, has a handful of challenges that he has to overcome every day to do things that come much more easily for his peers. He has social and communication deficits, Anxiety, Dyslexia, and ADHD, a toxic combination for surviving in most group settings such as school and organized sports. This kid has worked so hard over the last year with the help of some incredible teachers, doctors, and therapists.

I don’t know how to put it all into context for my reader who does not have a child with this kind of cocktail of challenges to help you understand what it is like for our family. Life with Luke can be very much a battlefield complete with explosions, destruction, dramatic escapes, hiding in trenches, and trying desperately to map out a plan to take back your life. There isn’t much in our home that doesn’t have a battle scar of some kind from a sudden impulse to see what would happen, or an outburst of anger, or obsessive need to work on a project that required just the right piece of “something” causing an entire closet to be dismantled while looking for it.

We all know that we still have a long way to go but this summer seems to have been a new beginning for Luke. He attended two weeks of summer camp at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He made a friend at camp that he still plays Fortnite with online. It is the first time in his entire life that he wasn’t kicked out of a program. We did not receive a single warning call or notice of challenging behavior. We traveled to visit family and our home in Florida without significant incidents. These are huge milestones for Luke and our family.

This past week I’ve dedicated to helping Luke spend time with his good friend who will be going off to middle school this year so they won’t get to see each other in class. Both of these kids have struggled with peer relationships all their lives, so it is wonderful to watch their friendship grow. We’ve had swim days, movie day, a trip to the trampoline jump zone and lots of video games. We will be heading to NASA’s Space Center Houston in a few hours for our big final summer adventure. Tomorrow we begin the proceedings of getting ready for school.

Luke is actually looking forward to starting school, and his teachers are excited to have him back in the classroom with them. He is so lucky to have the same teachers this year, and they have a bonded relationship that helps him to feel safe at school. A couple of weeks ago he started in a gymnastics program that he is enthusiastic about and seems to be getting along with the young men in his group so far. It is physically hard work for him in the class. He is not the typical gymnast body type, he is more of a linebacker, but it isn’t deterring him.

We are entering this school year feeling very hopeful that this path will continue on a positive trajectory. I know that the “teenager to be” lies in wait for us right around the corner. I’ve survived that beastly age with the three older siblings that have come before him. But today I’m celebrating this new beginning for Luke and the success that we have had this summer.

I also want to give my thanks to the incredible change agents in Luke’s life, his teachers, tutors, therapists, doctors, and camp counselors who have been an important part of his success. Of course, I have to give a shout out to my posse for always being there for me when I need a pick me up, cheers. And finally, though he probably won’t read this, thank you, Luke. Thank you for learning new ways to do things, for practicing reading, for trying to be appropriate with the people around you every day, and to keep going when it is hard. I’m proud of you.