Wyatt wore jeans today.

He came home from Kindergarten last night and informed me that he had to wear jeans in order to be able to ride a horse on his field trip.

Fortunately, I keep a pair of jeans around in his size.  They are usually from a garage sale or Value Village and for the remote possibility that he might actually want to wear them.  I never imagined it would ever happen!  So, when he announced this I headed up to the attic and retrieved the jeans.  We put them on this morning and off to school he went looking very handsome and ‘normal’. 

I laughed with delight when the aide helped him out of the car.

Wyatt replied, “Don’t laugh at me.”

I said that I was laughing because I was happy. I actually cried all the way home.  That is one of the privileges of having a child with special needs…you never take for granted the little things…like wearing jeans.

Fast-forward 8 years…

Wyatt wore jeans today. He told me that he wanted to look nice for his 8th grade promotion.  So, up to the attic I went and retrieved another pair of jeans.  He complained about the button, but went off to school looking very handsome and ‘normal’. 

He informed me that I was allowed to show up for promotion, but he insisted that I didn’t ‘make a big deal’ and let me know the he preferred I didn’t come up and talk to him too much afterwards.

I smiled and told him how proud I was of him for making it through 8th grade.  I actually cried through the whole ceremony.  We had both worked so hard to get to this point. That is one of the privileges of having a child with special needs…you never take for granted the little things…like wearing jeans.

So, while other parents were celebrating their children’s promotions and snapping photos, I’m standing in the background celebrating jeans. For in wearing jeans, Wyatt reminded me of the need in all of us to be loved and accepted for who we are.  The need in all of us to be a part of the common community that we call the ‘human race’.  To me that is nothing less than a miracle.