Niko's Primary Triumph

Today was the primary program in church, where the little kids get to walk up to the pulpit, say their assigned part, and then they all sing songs. It's really cute, and has driven me a bit crazy in the past because it's usually a disaster for us. The picture on the cover of the program last year was a slew of happy, smiling primary kids and me holding a screaming Niko on my lap. You know, the usual.

Our ward called a sweet new couple to be Niko's aids, and kind of tend to him during Sunday School and the program. They came over last night to get to know him a little bit, and he absolutely adores them! This made it much easier today.

So here's a list of things that went fabulously well:

1) Niko let us put him in his church clothes. Pinstripes, vest and all. He looked especially dapper. Sure, the socks and shoes came off after a while, but who's complaining? Not I!

2) He sat up there for almost the whole time. Usually he's flipping out within minutes. And anybody familiar with his meltdowns...yeah.

3) When it was time to say his part, they carried him up. He grabbed the microphone and hooted confidently into it for a while, and then they said his part for him.

4) He danced and waved while they sang. He hopped up and down. He spun in circles.

He was happy, and he was loved. It was amazing to see Niko and how far he has come! I nearly cried. Then the bishop got up, and he did cry. He said that his sister had Down's Syndrome, and sometimes it's hard to have a special needs person thrown into the mix because we like things to always be a certain way, but that we're doing a right thing by bringing him and Niko is assured a place in heaven. And to see this man crying about my son...it was just...wow.

We all feel this way about our kids, I think. We're so proud of them when they do well, and we're so heartbroken when things hurt them. With a special needs kid, it seems like the feelings are a little more dramatic, but they're the same feelings. I just want to point that out. I know there are people who want to ask questions and don't know if it's polite. Ha, I know that people send you to my blog, and I just want to let you know something. You can ask me, and it's okay. I'm no different than you.