It’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to write a thankful post but I really am very thankful for the happiness of my boy right at this very moment.

Thankful (missbananapants.blogspot.com)

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He had been worrying about an overnight camping trip with school for weeks. He really didn’t want to go and I didn’t want to push him so we came to a compromise where he would go for the day and I would pick him up after dinner, delivering him back to the campsite again the next morning.

Even though this solution meant he would be able to sleep in the warmth of his own bed, he was still very fretful yesterday morning when I dropped him off at school. All I could do was promise to be there to collect him after he had eaten dinner with his classmates and watch him slowly drag himself to class.

I thought about him all day, hoping he was enjoying himself or, at the very least, not entirely hating the whole experience.
I was getting ready to leave the house to collect him at 6pm last night when my mobile rang. All sorts of thoughts raced through my head as I reached to answer it.

“Was he unhappy?”

“Had he got himself into trouble?”

“Was he injured?”

Instead, his teacher’s cheerful voice was on the other end of the line, asking if Gilbert could stay to watch a movie with the other children. Apparently he had really enjoyed his dinner and wanted to stay a bit longer to watch the movie too.

I was more than happy to oblige. Any small inconvenience in having to go out later to collect him was more than outweighed by the relief that he was enjoying himself and that he was happy to stay.

When I finally got to the caravan park where the class was staying, I was met with one very happy and slightly hyper boy. He started telling me all the stories from the evening. He told me he had eaten a chicken schnitzel (that was a feat in itself) and that he had enjoyed the gravy that came with it (unbelievable).

For a child that doesn’t ever, ever try anything new, let alone like anything new, that was impressive.

He talked a bit about the movie they had watched (The Neverending Story) and showed me the shells and bits of coal he had collected on their beach walk. He even shared how he had tried to catch the light from a classmates’ torch as a bit of fun after the movie.

After talking ten to the dozen for the entire way home, he then took the unusual step of kissing each of his sleeping sisters and took himself to bed without complaint.

How amazing is that?

I’m thankful he had such an awesome time. I’m thankful he shared some of his experiences with me. I’m thankful he was able to work past his anxiety and enjoy an unexpectedly wonderful time. I’m thankful he has beautiful and understanding classmates who all said goodbye to him as he left.

Above all, I’m thankful that he is happy. As a parent that’s all you can ever ask for.

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