Full Circle

I have been wanting to write about this for a long time but it seemed like it was bragging, or showing off. And I totally don't mean it that way. This is truly to share how far we've come with our lovely daughter Emily and for her someday, when she looks back and reads this, how far her dad and I truly feel she's come.

5, almost 6 years ago, when Emily was born, she rocked our world. Our peaceful existence was ripped away and replaced with a baby content to sleep for 30 minutes and awake 2 hours wanting to be walked, talked to and entertained. She was always very curious and BUSY! I thought it would be hard for a little while and eventually she would be that sweet baby that sits quietly in the middle of the room playing and we would smile at how cute she was and admire her sweet disposition. We did love and enjoy her, but oh did she keep us on our toes. Mike and I spent a fortune buying room heaters thinking she was cold, music players to keep her enteretained at night and I can't even remember what all. We laugh now at taking her for drives a 4 a.m. because as long as we would go over 45 miles an hour she would sleep, and praying that she would continue to stay asleep when we got home...she never did by the way.

Then the toddler years hit and I remember feeling exhausted and tired. ADHD was mentioned quietly but I never believed that was truly something my child could have. I knew it was just bad parenting and I could fix it. So we waited and we parented and disciplined constantly. It was so frustrating and I hated having to be on her all of a time. I felt like such an awful parent. It's funny when we talk about those days to various people because they said that she was their all time favorite kid ever. She was truly so funny, full of life and loved everyone. She wasn't shy at all. But we were tired.

Then preschool age came and nothing was getting better, I felt totally beat up and tired, now having 2 other children who needed me. So off to the doctor we went. He immediately noticed what I had been seeing, and I brought my research with me. Reading the ADHD symptoms was like reading Em's story. I could have cried and leaped for joy when he prescribed the smallest dose of medication. Before I was absolutely not going to go down that road, but by now I was willing to do anything. She wasn't bad neccessarily, just so busy and unreachable sometimes. It took some time for her body to adjust to the medication but soon her personality was shining through. Her teachers were amazed at how quickly she was picking up academically. It was so refreshing to pick her up from school where before it was always nerve racking, not sure what her day had been like.

And here she is now, in kindergarten, and doing awesome. Her teacher gave a glowing report on her teacher parent conference day. When I help in her class on Monday's I would easily say she is one of the best behaved kids. She's sweet and so smart and a joy to parent now. The only issues we really have are normal five year old issues. If you had asked me what I thought she would have been like a year ago, I wouldn't have even imagined how wonderful it could be. I used to pray daily that God would help me to help her be the person he created her to be. And he did. He answered my prayer in His perfect timing. I learned so much and realized how judgemental I had been towards my parenting and other peoples parenting. I'm so much more understanding now. And I'm grateful for those lessons.

And I'm so grateful to have Emily. She was fun and full of energy before and she's still the same Emily, we just don't have to be constantly frustrated with her and she doesn't have to be frustrated with herself. She gets to enjoy who she is and in turn she's created closer friendships and is able to participate in so much. I really feel like we've come full circle. It may have taken four and a half years to reach this point but looking back, it really allowed me to grow and I think it really shaped who she is as a person. I can't wait to see how God is going to use her in the future. She has such a loving nature and zest for life.

Anyway, I hope this didn't sound too sappy but I've just really been wanting to share this with everyone.

We're so proud of you Em!