Graduation....and a look back

My baby son graduated from high school this weekend. I really, I mean REALLY, expected to be sad,distraught,upset, or at the least freaking out, but as it turns out I wasn't. I was AM proud,excited,happy,impressed.

Proud because hes my baby, my first born. He's had to work so much harder than most to get to where hes at today.

Excited because he has so much to look forward to next year, going away to college and starting a whole new life for himself when there was a time I didn't if he would be alive to see it, let alone graduate.

Happy for him because hes accomplished something he set out to do even though it WAS hard work.

Impressed because he stuck with it no matter what was going on in his life and how much he wanted to give up at times.


You see my baby son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young. I always knew he wasn't a "typical" child. I just didn't know how hard things were going to be for him.

Hes always been extremely smart, always got good grades, and loved going to school. That is until he started high school. High school was an entirely different experience for him, and for me. I started to notice things about him that just were not "normal" even for him. His grades started to drop, and before we knew it he was failing most of his classes. It was at this time he was diagnosed with depression. My child was depressed, not MY child. He started treatment for the depression and this is when we learned about co morbid illnesses. Children with ADHD usually have other psychological illnesses. This was just the beginning for my baby son. It took the better part of a year for him to recover from this particular bout of depression with the help of therapy and medication he pulled through. He was later diagnosed with having ADHD with OCD
tendencies, Depression,GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), and a sleep disorder.

He's had a long three years of high school. Fighting his own demons and dealing with the stigma of being mentally ill all while trying to graduate high school, and not just graduate,but graduate with high enough grades to go to college, and work a full time job.

He was accepted to not one college but to THREE major universities and was offered scholarships to help pay for his education.

He'll be leaving in a few months for college and I know he will do great because hes a fighter and I'm proud to call him my son.



My baby holding his cousin


After a spring band concert



Sr. Band night where Sr. band students are honored,with their parents,for all of their hard work through out the years.



Christmas concert at GHS 2009



Graduation