Look at those faces. It's hard to believe that face belongs to the same child. The picture on the left was taken last December. It was an ornament Jude made at his Mother's Day Out program last year. When I found the ornament this year, I immediately started to cry. I cried because I remember that face - the glazed-over eyes, the lack of expression, and the little boy behind the face who wouldn't look at me, smile at me, talk to me, or interact with me.
He hadn't always been that way. Until about November of last year he had been a happy, funny, affectionate, silly little toddler. We had no concerns about his development. We didn't know it at the time, but about this time last year he began to disappear before our very eyes - trapped behind the emerging wall of autism.
Thankfully, that wall has been chipped away over the past year. Pieces of the wall are still there, and they may always be there. But he has worked so hard to push back against that wall, and today he laughs, makes jokes, dances, gives hugs, speaks in complete, grammatically correct sentences, loves to be the center of attention, and loves to make people laugh. He loves his little friends, his sister, his baby brother, and his mom and dad. He looks them in the eye and calls them by name. He asks them to come play with him instead of playing by himself. He argues when he doesn't want to do something. He lays down on the floor and throws a good old fashioned, typical 2-year old temper tantrum. He yells "No, Mommy! I can NOT going to!" He smiles at strangers and tells them hi. He sings in the car at the top of his lungs...songs like Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Jingle Bells. He negotiates over his food..."No, I eat 3 bites. Not 5 bites..." The first thing he does when Daddy gets him out of bed in the morning is run to find his sister, his baby brother, and his mom. He bursts in to the room and says "Hi Mom! There's Clara! And there's Baby Micah! I'm awake!!" He lights up any room as soon as he enters. He is a delight to everyone who knows him.
I almost threw this ornament away when I found it. It made me sad to look at it. In the end, I decided to keep it to remind myself of how far we have come in one short year, to remind myself of how proud I am of my little boy. That picture is part of his story, and it will always be part of his story. But thank the Lord, that wasn't the end of his story, and we pray that there are many chapters left to come.
This just might be my favorite Christmas gift ever.
Love it!
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