There just really isn't another way to sum up all that is happening in our lives! Looking at these pictures from Saturday night and reflecting on Matthew's experience at the party brings something striking to my mind. When the idea of writing a book about our journey starting rolling around in the recesses of my mind, I joked that I would have a chapter titled "Parties from Hell." For the first 5 or 6 years of Matthew's life, parties of ANY sort were a nightmare! Now he's fourteen, and look where we are! It literally makes my breath catch and my stomach flop. A few weeks ago, I recieved this email:
"....On a totally different subject, Matthew will be receiving an invitation to a surprise party I'm throwing for Sophie on November 15th. He and Andrew will be the only boys invited and if that will make him uncomfortable and he'd rather not come, I completely understand. I did want to include him though because the other day Sophie and I were talking and she said Andrew and Matthew were two of her closest friends and that she enjoyed having them with her and her girl friends. She said they fit right in even though they were boys. LOVE that!"
I knew Matthew wouldn't be uncomfortable with it, and I also knew that Sophi (and Andrew) are two of his favorite people, and just as I thought, he was excited when I he got the invitation in the mail. He told me it wouldn't bother him in the least to be one of only two boys. :-) I must say, he does love all the cute girls. LOL
SO... fast forward to the party. When we picked Matthew up, he said he had a GREAT time! He said he never felt uncomfortable, and he really enjoyed hanging out and talking with Andrew, Sophie and his friends. It's all so incredibly thrilling, and yet I find it terrifying as well. I suddenly feel so vulnerable. I'm trying so hard to trust... and God has given no reason to anything BUT trust! Still, that fear tugs at me... as much as they enjoy him now, will that continue as they get to know him better and better? Will their initial fondness be tested? Then I got this email from the mom who threw the party:
I would say all of the kids accept him, but he definitely has a handful that he is closest to and appears to feel most comfortable with. He hung out with Sophie and Andrew primarily, they all sat together at dinner, but also was around Betsy and Allison quite a bit. He also has great manners and thanked us for having him a few times, complimented the food, and was just generally a delight to have around. We LOVE him and I say that not in spite of any differences, but totally unqualified. He is a great kid and you have every right to be very, very proud of him (and I'm not even talking about his math genius!).You are a momma after my own heart! I would worry about all the same things...and do! Matthew fit in beautifully. He seems to have a wonderful ability to know what he needs. I don't think anyone would notice, I just happened to be watching closely, but he would interact and then very subtly drift off for a few moments. I think he just needed to process it a bit. Then he would come back and join the group. Honestly, he was not the only one at the party who did that either, there are a few kids who I have noticed before seem to need periodic breaks from the action, which I totally understand, it is overwhelming!Given that he was only one of two boys there (not counting John and my Dad), I think he fit in amazingly well. Couple that with the fact that he has only known these kids for a short time and I think whatever spectrum you measure him on, he was incredible. I can't think of many boys at his age who could have done that so graciously.
