A year in and everything is changing

It's been a while! Coz it's been a little bit busy and a little bit crazy and a little bit so many firsts for us both. We went to Scotland. We did that thing. And it was a truly incredible experience for which I will be eternally grateful. Taking my little boy to see my family, to spend time with his eleventy five cousins and aunts and uncles and friends was exactly everything that I wanted for us both. We did all of the things and went to all of the places, including the Kelpies, which I've been desperate to see for since they were constructed. Just brilliance. All of the nerves and the anxiety didn't disappear overnight, of course, because it was completely impossible to predict how my guy was going to react to the sheer volume of newness that was getting smashed right into his face every single day. But man, did he SMASH it. I quickly learned that provided he knew more or less what was happening, he was able to cope. And more than that, he thrived. It happened when we were surrounded with family in the land of the Mickey Mouse (who is, FYI, the current obsession) and it happened more in Scotland - something just helped him to open up. The happiest little love in all the world. So, so grateful to have had that time with everyone at home.

And then onto the next. We started at Nursery in my big, massive, fee paying school. I mean, Emilio's attitude to the latter part there might be, 'Quite frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn', but it's a thing because it just is. I do not come from a fee paying school background and really do struggle with the concept entirely, however, it is how I've managed to have the life I've had; the one that has seen me dancing round the world through Europe, Asia and South America. But now, here we are, here I am, on the other side of the curtain and quite frankly, my dear, I dinnae like it! Man, that old anxiety came back to haunt like a big bag of haunting, painful, terrifying things. How on earth is he going to cope? I'm about to literally blow his tiny little life and world WIDE OPEN! His old Nido had 6 children and 2 teachers. We have just graduated to 25 children and 5 teachers. Holy actual moly. And then there's the whole 'what will the parents say about him?' and the 'how will everyone react?' and the actual agony of 'what if he really never makes a friend?' My goodness, it is somewhat suffocating. And definitely sleep robbing.

I can absolutely, 100% guarantee that Emilio is the first child to enter my school without a father listed on his matriculation form. He most certainly is NOT the first to have autism. Nor is he the first to have a foreign parent (obvs). He's also definitely not the first to be adopted. But combine that together? We have ourselves another brand new first, ladies and gentlemen. I know a lot of these nerves are what every new parent goes through - the starting school, is he going to be ok, will they 'get' him stressy stuff. I know that. But then you have all the other parents going through the same thing and you can lean on each other and cry into your tea or whatever. It's just an entirely different experience when you're an employee at the place he's going to school and you have already been told that the parents have 'heard about Emilio'. Anyway. Let's see how it all goes. This boy has taught me that absolutely nothing is predictable and that he will continue to surprise me and make me prouder than a big bag of proud things on a daily basis. So let's just see. 

We are SO lucky that school are being incredibly supportive and have bent over backwards to put things in place for my wee guy to succeed. Like, above and beyond support. He has a truly excellent, understanding, caring, committed-to-learning-about-him and all of the many shades of spectrum he brings to life, team - we could not ask for more. 

Watch this space. This boy is heading for the stars.