On a different path

"It's so hard for him to learn," I told D'Arcy today.

I had hoped that Ben could benefit from the Kumon reading books his brother is doing. He did well circling or pointing to the answers with one of them.

But today when I tried to get him to do a second book, he couldn't focus and was disinterested. I could hear frustration mount in my voice as I tried to get him to do something he didn't want to do.

I felt defeated then and gloomy about Ben's future.

"He can learn, just not as fast as you'd like him to," D'Arcy said later.

It was a beautiful day with brilliant sun and we were walking through a wooded area. But I couldn't enjoy the sun -- or the lapping water or the frogs singing to each other -- because I was carrying my own black cloud around with me.

How can I be happy if my son can't read at a certain level? And express his thoughts through writing?

Maybe I can't push Ben's development forward, I thought. And maybe things like reading aren't important to him. Maybe he's on a different path, and who am I to force him down mine?

He is happy. So why can't I be happy for him?

I believe that happiness is a choice, one that can be chosen in any circumstance when we embrace life as it is, instead of fighting against it.

What do you think?