Oh Baby!

I started this post over a month ago...but have had a serious case of writer's block, so haven't finished it until today. The story is now old news, but still makes me smile, so I'll share it anyways. God always has a way of pulling me out of my down swings and moments of doubt and despair. After having some amazing success in Physio, I felt like little M was unstoppable. Unfortunately, the same week as I was witnessing her walking success, there was a thread on an on-line group for Trisomy 8 children about their inability to talk. Seriously! I feel like Little M works so hard to overcome the odds in one area only to turn around and see another mountain in front of her. Almost all of the children had extreme difficulties with speech. Some not speaking at all and some managing two word sentences...at the adult age level. I felt that dark feeling of defeat slipping over me or at least of another daunting unknown. That's when the trip to Walmart came into play. It was one of those days where the odds were not looking good for me...one week without a husband, three tired and hungry children, one long list of groceries and items required from Walmart...including a prescription for a nagging health issue that had me feeling under the weather...not a good scenario. I was desperate to get my errands done before Jeff returned from a week absence, so that we could enjoy the 24 hours we had with him before he headed away for another week. The idea of wasting that precious time with him doing errands, spurred me on despite the obvious possibilities for disaster. After waiting in line to find out that my prescription still was not ready, the kids begged yet again for some time in the toy department to which I relented with a 5 minute warning. We did a whirl wind tour of the Hot wheels and action figure section, followed by a trip down "animal lane" for my middle child. "Animal Lane" is really the girl's section. I don't know why all things animal seem to be labelled feminine, but they are...littlest pet shops, zhu zhu pets, Fur Real animal...all in "animal lane". After pushing a few buttons on the animals, we headed for the end of the aisle only to be stopped by a single word uttered from little M. "Baby". I immediately froze and looked around to see if anyone else had heard what I thought I had. Unfortunately, it was just me and the boys...no television crews around to record this momentous occasion. I hadn't realized we were passing the dolls until little M had reached out and called for them. I hesitantly said "Baby?", to which she again said "baby". I'll spare you the next 10 exchanges between us as they were exactly the same, except for me giving her various dolls to touch as a reward for each time she said the word. The shopping trip took a dramatic turn for the better as Mommy practically skipped down the aisles and was very open to all children requests. I came home and tried to repeat the scenario for various family members to no avail, but that's okay because in that one word, the clouds of uncertainty and fear were swept away...at least for now...and "oh baby" does it feel good!