Night Before Middle School

On the night before Jake's first day of middle school, I am having a lot of different emotions. I am so excited for him to start this next phase of his schooling and increased independence. It's wonderful to see him so excited and eager to begin this journey. I'm also scared to let him go. I have all the normal worries many parents do sending their child to middle school. Will he make friends? Will he have problems with his locker? How will he handle going from one teacher to six? Will he stay organized?

Add to those, I have extra set of "stroke-related" concerns. Does he have the stamina to keep up with all the walking? How will he handle walking with so many kids in the hallways? Will he be able to find his way to his classes? Will his teachers recognize when he needs some extra help with something in class? Will he learn to ask for help when he needs it? How is the extra physical and mental fatigue going to affect his walking (actually his whole body)?

I know we've done everything we can to put the tools in place to help this transition. I really am trying not too worry to much, but it's just hard. I'm not going to be there and I don't have "my people" yet at the school looking out for him like I did at his elementary school. He so desperately wants to be like everyone else and even asked me last night "Mom, when am I going to walk better and be normal again?" Breaks my heart that I don't have the answers for him. The truth is, his walking may never be 100% like it was before and it could still take a long time to improve.

Part of what added to my worry was seeing how tired he was after he spent a 1/2 day at the school on Friday. He came home pretty wiped out, they were only there for four hours and didn't really do anything academic. Generally when he gets this fatigued, it takes a couple of days of rest to get his walking back on track. He's not going to have that opportunity being in school five days a week. I do realize that my worrying doesn't accomplish anything, but he's my kid and I hate to see him struggle. Especially when it's due to the affects of  a stroke that just happened to him. I know he will get through this like he has so many other things with sheer will and determination. It may not be without some bumps and bruises or adjustments along the way. I also know it's going to take a lot of prayers and faith on my part.