Late Bloomer, or Right OWN Time?

It's September in NC, and look who I found in my yard yesterday. May into June is bloom time for gardenias here. I always remember this because they remind me of my father-in-law's mother, and they are always in bloom between Mother's Day and Father's Day. So this lone beauty is a few months behind the typical schedule here, yet she's perfect.

Oh, how I needed this sign.

I'm homeschooling one of my children this year, and to say it's been challenging already is an understatement. But I'm not sure my kiddo is to blame. I think instead it might be that my expectations are out of whack.

After all, my child has always done things HIS WAY. He is not someone who fits into any box, but my husband and I have surely tried everything we could all these years to help him fit at school. Ultimately, we saw this bright, curious, creative, exuberant child slip further and further behind, academically and socially.

I knew I had to do something different. I guess I just didn't understand how different, how creative, I'd need to be. I'm still unsure how to do this or whether this is even going to work out, but this little gardenia bloom has made me think. Could it be that left more to his own devices, this child will blossom at just the right time--in his own time?

Only time will tell if any of the decisions we make now will turn out to be the right ones, but this I know: We are here, above all else, to love. As mother and as teacher, love must come first, and what better way to love than to allow him the time and space he needs to grow?