Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ~Author Unknown
He says "I love you".
If he never says anything more or never learns how to do calculus or trigonometry or snowboard or ski or run and catch a ball at the same time, I think I will be ok. He will be ok.
Suddenly none of the other things matter anymore....
Of course I'd like for him to be happy and successful and a major contributor to society. Maybe even be the President of the EU, or the US, win the Nobel Peace Prize, or be the first bilingual/quadrilingual implanted deaf boy musician the world has ever witnessed and something, ANYTHING exceptional, but, if he doesn't, and he's not....I'm actually totally ok with that.
Because he says "I love you".
My deaf son says "I love you".
Of course it sounds more like "Rye-luh-eeeeew"...but I know perfectly well what it means.
I was taking note of all of the words he can SAY (different from words he understands) now for his interview for preschool this past week and here is the following list:
english words:
all done
stop
bath
blue
yah
no
socks
shoes
mommy
daddy
go
outside
woof
doggy
meow
cat
apple
out
cow
hi
bye
night/night
Abby
Axelle
OP
poo poo
I love you
ice cream
cake
cookie
more
ball
binky
out
yucky
yummmm
ouchie"
french words:
gateau
bateau
au revoir
non
encore
sil te plait
merci
He sings some semblance of "Eeee-iii-ooooh"and the "ABC's", too.
He understands the commands "Sit down", "Go get your shoes", "Assieds-toi".
He understands the questions, "Do you want to eat?"--or "...go to sleep?" and "Ca va?"
My whole world has changed again.
I don't look at anything the same as I used to.
It's actually alot better and nicer than it used to be.
I love more and laugh harder, and louder, work better and harder, and perhaps cry harder, and hurt more, too.
I live better.
Isn't that the purpose of life? To feel all of these emotions and have all of these relationships? Help and serve and learn and grow along the way?
I climbed into Parker's bed with him last night to cuddle as is the custom in our home. He already had all of his hearing devices removed, as usual when he sleeps. I said, "I love you" to him while he was looking right at me to see if he could understand or read my lips.
He immediately grinned, blew me 4 kisses, verbalized "muah" each time, rolled over, and closed his eyes.
It was the first night in a long time that he slept through the night.
Me, too.
Love is an amazing thing. I love love.
(Photo courtesy of Sandi Gentry)
