Success!!!

Trips can be a great bonding experience. This one succeeded in droves.

I was a nervous wreck driving to the school to pick up my son yesterday evening upon their return from the choir trip. You see, he was severely bullied when he was younger and has struggled since that time in making friends. He tends to hang back and study people. Therefore he is labeled as shy by teachers and his fellow students. Being misunderstood can really mess with one's mind. That's why this trip was so important to his overall continued progress. We've fought an uphill battle for many years, and the outcome of this trip was key to his continued forward momentum.

The moment he came barreling from the school building (he was helping gather bags from the buses), I breathed an enormous sigh of relief. From his body language, smile, and interactions with fellow students it was quite obvious he'd enjoyed a wonderful time. When he saw me his face lit up like a lightbulb, and he ran over and gave me a great big hug right in front of his fellow students. It brought tears of joy to my eyes.

He talked non-stop all the way home. They'd had a successful raid of the awards and ended up bringing home six trophies from the competition. All three of his roommates were great guys, and he even was able to tell me their names and grades (shocker for him to remember such details). Of course, the biggest success of the trip to him was getting invited twice to sit with a table full of girls. The biggest success to me was that he'd thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

And he's ready to go back next year.