Our youngest autistic child, Logan, has had the limelight on HIVE long enough. Now it's Devin's turn. He's the oldest and with that comes extra pressure.
Having a younger autistic brother isn't always fair for Devin. Devin is Logan's protector, his teacher, and he shows relentless patience in working through Logan's disability.
Family attention goes to Logan more often due to his learning disadvantage. And Devin still walks with his head up high, always with self esteem and confidence.
As parents, my wife Erin and I couldn't be more proud of him. Devin does well in some school subjects and has really struggled in others. Math is not one of his favorite studies.
A Graduation Online
We were wondering for at least a couple weeks how the school planned to pull off a Zoom Graduation with a thousand in attendance. I just couldn't imagine it being anything but a big mess.
The school must have felt the same way because 8th Grade Graduation ended up being recorded on video and shared by the school through a link.
I'm sure by now the link is dead and who would want to watch it anyway (besides us)? It had a short speech from the Principal who congratulated the graduating class and wished for them that the world would right itself soon.
Then the video went through the profiles of each child, showing a banner they made at homeschool themselves. Here is Devin's below.
Game Over - Highschool Level Unlocked
I dig this kids' sense of style which you get a glimpse of in the images. There he looks like a hippie child, here he appears to be a fly boy.
Graduation was on Wednesday last week and the last day of school would have been a shortened Thursday. As it was, the last two weeks of school didn't have many activities.
There wasn't much work for the graduating class to do. Typically, this would a have been a time for field trips and class socializing. Year books would have been passed around for signing and summer plans made with friends.
Not this year. We didn't let the sadness of that fact depress us.
Devin got a huge sushi lunch on Wednesday and a takeout Mexican dinner. We had this sign printed for him as well. Erin did the chalkboard in the feature image to add her personal touch.
Returning School Books - A Big Moment For The Kids
It shows how hungry we are for human connection when a two hour trip to the school to drop off text books is a huge event!
As a father, I was fully prepared for the trip to take some time. Devin made sure we went when his friends were also going to be there. And as a result, he did get to say goodbye to them.
He also got to talk face to face with a couple of his favorite teachers. And after picking up his yearbook, he was able to collect a few signatures.
I spoke with one of the kid's mom's while we were on the verge of leaving. It was a bittersweet moment for them as they hung on to those last moments together. We made sure to get the memory on camera.
Devin, as your dad, I'm proud of you beyond words. I always wanted to have a family and kids, but you have blown away my dreams and made them better than I could have ever imagined. I hope you read this someday and know how much I love you.
Congratulations on Graduation 8th Grade and best of wishes as you start Highschool, whatever that might look like. And whatever does happen, I'll be right there with you, supporting you, and cheering you on.
And congrats to all our youth that graduated this year under far less than ideal circumstances. I'm proud of you too.
Images Courtesy Of My Galaxy S10+
Bottom Image Courtesy Of Hive.io Brand Assets
