The Walker

Luke recently got his haircut and while cutting his hair stylist, Ashley, teased saying, "Luke, I think I'm going to give you a mohawk."  Luke responded with, "Oh yeah, do that!"  So after the cut, she put a little goo in his hair and . . . ta da!  He loved it.  Luke has quite the transformation over the past couple of years with his feelings toward professional hair styling.

And on that transformation theme, all last year Luke walked to the car ride line hand in hand with an aid.  Dismissal was kind of a stressful time for him.  He began this year leaving the same way, hand in hand with Ms. Sally.  Over the past few weeks he began coming to find me in line without his aid.  Sally commented to me he didn't need her much anymore.

During spirit week we had a "walk to school day."  Luke loved it and has been asking to walk to and from school since then.  So we've been walking, but I was meeting up with him in our normal spot in front of the school.  A couple of weeks ago he told me that Mrs. H said he couldn't walk unless he had a note.  And if I wrote a note, he could leave with the walkers and go right instead of left.

So I wrote a note, at his insistence, confused as to why it was necessary.  When I dropped him off that morning, I asked Mrs. H and she said if I filled out a "walker form" he could be dismissed to the gym and walk out the back doors.  She said, "Why did someone tell you couldn't walk with him from the car rider line?!"  And I said, "Yes, that somebody is Luke."  She said, "You don't miss a thing, do you buddy?"  He is the chief rule follower, keeping me in line.

Now that I've filled out the appropriate paper work, Luke, the only walker in his class, walks from his classroom to the back doors by the gym where he meets up with me for the walk home.  Crazy huge surge of independence.  I'm really enjoying our conversations on the walks to and from school.  Great way to start and end the day.  It's always interesting when we encounter dogs on the way, which happens most days.  But I'm proud of him for facing that fear too.  Yesterday he told me, "Lots of people have dogs.  Maybe we should get one."  I said, "But aren't you afraid of dogs?"  He said, "Yeah, but everyone has one."  Trouble, trouble.

Luke is loving school, working hard, and learning so much.  So thankful.  So far, we love some 1st grade.