Seeing that my son was tall enough to play was a joyful moment

One thing I have learned to appreciate about raising children is that you are often proven wrong about the things you worry about. 

I have two boys, Jackson and Finley, and I worry about them hitting their milestones and developing into great young kids. But this worry tends to be more intense with Finley, who was born with Alagille syndrome.

So, when moments that ease those worries occur, I do my best to savor them.

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Hitting the mark

For years, Finley’s size and growth have been at the center of his Alagille journey. When he was an infant, and before we learned that he had Alagille syndrome, seeing how little he was growing was scary, and it’s been a source of worry for me.

Finley Sandstrom, 5, lines up his best shot during a game of duffleboard. (Photo by Jay Sandstrom)

Now, at 5, Finley is capable of doing everything his peers can do, but he can be held back because he is smaller than they are. I still remember an incident from a couple of years ago, when Finley was almost prevented from getting on the one ride he really wanted to do, a very slow-moving teacup ride with my wife, Dani, because he didn’t meet the height requirement.

So imagine my relief at seeing what Finley was capable of doing when we all went to an indoor mini-golf and restaurant venue after a short nature hike on Mother’s Day. Jackson loves going to this amusement center, but it was Finley’s first time, and he soon began a game of duffleboard, a bit of a mix of mini-golf and shuffleboard that’s played on a table.

Finley fell in love with the game instantly, and we played the entire course a couple of times.

I loved seeing his excitement and enjoyment, but what brought me the most joy from watching him play was that he was tall enough to do so. To see Finley step confidently up to each hole and shoot the ball without me holding him up was exciting. And it was a reminder that, while he will probably always be smaller than his peers, he is growing at his own pace. And I need to continue to worry less about that.

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