preschool boy on swingIt was with mixed feelings that I approached the house of a kindergartner today. You see today was graduation day from speech therapy! Although I was like a proud parent feeling the importance of his accomplishments, I was sad that my weekly meetings at his house were coming to an end. 

We had our party of celebration with his favorite ice cream–mint chocolate chip–played his favorite game, “Race to the Tower,” and exchanged some pictures and books to remember each other by. He had a great line as we started to play our game, “Miss Sherry, I guess  we don’t have to say our words today!” 

As I left his house with the little boy crying under a chair saying, “You have to come back,” and the mom with tears in her eyes, I realized I am the luckiest person in the world, being able to do what I love and enter people’s lives and give them a lift. You see, I can’t just be a speech therapist when families let me into their lives every week. I watch their kids and siblings grow up, take their first steps, hold their hand through that first day of kindergarten, celebrate accomplishments, and give advice about child rearing (and sometimes decorating, fashion etc!)

I am thankful for all the families that entrust me with their children to work through sometimes uncertain situations and celebrate the progress together.