Still Becoming

In 2018, when Brayden was in 1st grade, I wrote about his first re-evaluation meeting, an important step to determine his eligibility for school services. He had first been evaluated at age 4 to receive supports like speech therapy, OT, and PT through the school system. If you had told the version of me, sitting in that school hallway in 2018 shaking, exhausted, and terrified, what Brayden’s life would look like today, I don’t know that I would have believed you.

Back then, everything felt final.

Every evaluation felt like a verdict.
Every score felt like a sentence.

But here we are.

Brayden is now fifteen and in high school which still feels surreal to say.

Fifteen years of determination.
Fifteen years of small wins that don’t always show up on paper.
Fifteen years of growth that refuses to fit neatly into a chart or a percentile.

Brayden has been through a lot of procedures over the years but most recently, In May 2025, he had double osteotomy surgery.

And it changed his life. It’s hard to put into words what it’s like to watch your child get pieces of their life back.

He moves with more ease now.
He has more endurance.
He has more opportunity to simply be a kid.

He is still the happiest, most smiling kid in the room. That part has never changed and yet, his smile feels even brighter now.

I still have moments of denial and fear.

I still wonder what adulthood will look like.

But I don’t live in the same kind of panic anymore.

Brayden changed the entire direction of my life.

Because of him, Say Hello Threads exists.
Because of him, I speak about inclusion.
Because of him, I advocate for kids who don’t fit inside neat little boxes.

And if I could sit next to the version of myself from 2018, I would take her hands and tell her this:

One day, you will still worry.

But you will also be proud.

One day, you will still cry.

But you will smile a whole lot more.

One day, you will realize the story was never about catching up.

It was always about becoming.

What does “still becoming” mean to you in your own life or for someone you love? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.