When His Dreams Are Bigger Than He Is

"I want to be a hunter when I grow up, Mommy! And a doctor and a singer man and a house builder man and a fireman and a policeman and a artist! I want to have lots of jobs when I grow up, Mom!"

At five years old, Kyle has a lot of dreams. He wants to do all sorts of things when he's older. And while I believe in him and support his dreams, I don't have the heart to tell him I don't know if he'll be able to. 

So what's a mom to do when his dreams are bigger than he is?

I could sit him down and have a long talk with him about how his medical problems and his mental issues and his cognitive delays mean he probably won't be able to do a lot of those things.

I could break his heart.

Or I could swallow the lump in my throat and blink back the tears and smile my biggest, brightest smile at him and say, "Of course, honey. That sounds GREAT!" 

Five years of raising Kyle has taught me he is an overcomer. I can't see it now, but maybe twenty years from now, he will be one or more of the things he wants to be.

Meanwhile, I'll just be happy if he remembers to turn in his homework on Monday.