Catherine Lacey: BoyStory

By catherinelacey

When there's room on my bike for two

Boys are definitely on the mend from their colds which incidentally always happens when I have them to myself for a week.

But very kindly, they've shared them with me.

With Reuben's yearly special ed review (IEP) coming up, I made a point to talk to the school's director to ascertain if he's ready for the kindergarten programme. I'd been touched to see him reading the calendar and hear him say the year for the first time. He both leads and follows but having been at Step by Step for 18 months now, he's known by all, especially for his sociability. I hear him go up to kids and teachers and say "How are you today?", but the former aren't always ready to oblige. It's touching when kids do come up to welcome him upon arrival and he's on a par with his class mates, a mix of kids with varying special needs and kids who are typically developing.

Callum's made a new friend at school named Paolo, but he insists on calling him Pablo. I catch them playing fighter planes, making plans together. I love how sociable Callum has become.

So I grabbed this before bedtime at the Wetlands in the chilly evening air, funny boys pushing each other off the bike in heaps of laughter.

Bathtime was full of buckets of water over each other's heads. They are absolutely enthralled with each other these two.

I laid down beside Callum tonight, sang him a home made lullaby and watched his eyes fluttering away til they closed for the night.

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