How to Ripen Those Stubborn Tomatoes

I have ten tomato plants in my garden and they have only produced two weeks of tomatoes for salads and an occasional snack. Every year I say, "Forget the tomatoes, they will never ripen in time." My husband and I have tried planting them on the south side of the house in our cold frame spot, in special tomato planters out front, and now in a mini hoop house in the center of our larger garden. Every year we struggle with the wait. The other day at a school recess I was chatting with another woman about her tomatoes. She was raving about how delicious her heirloom crop was. I cringed with jealousy. She suggested I try to rip out the plants by their roots and hang them upside down to speed up ripening. Interesting, I thought. What analogies or metaphors can I think of in life? I think it is similar to the waiting game educators and parents need to play when trying to teach their children to read and write. Learning to read for some comes naturally, like a ripening tomato with the right amounts of fertilizer, water and warm sun. Others can take years, like one of my sons.  He struggles with a developmental delay which drastically slows down his ability to process everything. This delay envelopes his entire life. Words spoken get processed slowly, I always need to be clear and direct and simple with him. Writing and reading are very hard for him. He has a tremor in his writing hand and his letters are formed larger than normal.  Reading has been a slow process for him, requiring extra help in school with a specific phonics program and tons of review. He  spends many hours a day with the special ed. teacher and has a full time aide in the classroom.  I do expect that over a long period of time he will learn to read and write well.  Like my ripening tomatoes,  I need to be patient and wait.