Small Things are Worth Celebrating

For us, the seemingly small things are often big things to celebrate.

The Chick-fil-A play area has been the source of frequent tears for me over the years as Brayden and I longingly watched other kids play. For various reasons, it was a hard environment for him between the enclosed and noisy space and being scared of heights. He has tried so many times over the years, but it always resulted in him backing out in tears or us climbing up with him (ouch!). Last night, it seemed like it was going to be more of the same situation. He tried a few times to go up the climbing part and then backed out. He started to get upset because he really wanted to go down the slide, but I watched as he got a determined look on his face and crawled in and climbed up, navigated the tubes, and slid down the slide with the hugest smile on his face! Then, he did it again. Climbing and sliding down a slide may not be a milestone that most families celebrate, but the Meares’ Household celebrated big!

It’s hard to put into words the feeling you get when you see your child who often struggles to do age-appropriate activities participating alongside other children. Just know, my heart is very very full.