How do you convince a child that doesn’t know what time is, except his internal clock, that it isn’t time to get up. You don’t. Owen woke even earlier than he normally does asking me to “wash your face do your eyes hurt” and taking my hand to his cheek. He then wanted to go to the potty. I gave him a washcloth and he wiped his hands. He handed it right back to me and went to the potty. This is where I try to get him to tell me more. Do his eyes really hurt, does he want his face washed, maybe it’s his teeth. I can question him, but he doesn’t always know how to respond. I do the investigation, eyes look fine, no fever, no marks, no immediate signs of sickness. He has been losing a lot of teeth in the last few months and they are always a great concern for him, but his words didn’t match that. He will say, “wanna ball” or “teff” when talking about them. When the tooth is falling out he says “wanna ball”, grabbing on his mouth constantly. When it is finally out, if I or someone else that is with him doesn’t get it immediately he will swallow it or try to put the “ball in” his mouth. For the days following he will say, “brand new teff pwease”, sometimes taking my hand, trying to get me to put one in his mouth. His words “do your eyes hurt” could have been referencing how sleepy he was or something completely different. Communication is one of the hardest parts for us. He has come so far, but I can’t always understand what he wants me to know. Within ten minutes there was no more mention of his eyes or sleep to come. Through life, we learn and grow. Never give up and know that today is a moment in time. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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