It's been a long time.
DS is 17 now.
He wrote 4 college essays today. And he washed his own bowl.
Yesterday, he broke down at the thought of writing ONE essay. He said no. I wanted to respect his boundaries. He said writing an essay about himself was worse than taking a shower. Showers are still hard.
I'm so proud. It's certainly not the $550k+ in scholarships that make me proud. Those make me freeze in fear. What if he wont shower. What if he breaks down. What if he curls up in a ball and needs me and I'm not there. And he won't tell me.
But today, he washed his own bowl. And his smile told me he was proud of himself. He worked harder for that bowl and those 4 essays than he did for any of those scholarships.
That's why I told him today, "I'm proud of you. You met your challenge. You didn't let it overpower you. And you WILL meet all of the challenges. God is with you. You can, and you will."