The sleep has been better for Owen but the getting there has become a new battle that Curious George does not seem to know about and has not won. He wants to make sure he gets lots of hugs. I think it might be that ploy to stay up but he’s getting good at it. Words are a concrete memory of something you could easily forget, especially once they are written words. Some days it’s hard for me to write because it’s a moment that can be judged, can be overthought, can be reconsidered, and that’s all from my own perspective. I’m trying to ask Owen a lot of questions so that we can work on answers. Answers are hard, questions are all around us, but the answers have a direct reflection on our choices. I want him to understand his words are important and his choices are important. This morning as we were waiting for the bus I asked him to tell me what some of his favorite things were. This is a hard concept for him. I think veggie straws are his favorite food but maybe not. Favorite foods for me invoke favorite memories so they are important. Chicken and dumplings are one of my favorite foods because they remind me of my Grammy. I want Owen to find connections to his favorite things. I asked him more questions, maybe questions that would be hard for someone else and he got them all right. A car drove by and I wanted him to tell me about it. He is learning to be descriptive and so I wanted him to describe what he saw. He said it was a white car with red. He was completely right. I asked another question and this is where he answers wrong because he wants to get his answers out quickly. I asked him how many tires the car had and he said, “two nah four.” His first answer is generally wrong. I then asked him how many doors the car had but I told him to look at me before he answered and the same answer came “two nah four” but he was right with the four. He is figuring it out. He is getting how to answer questions. I think once he remembers to breathe and then answer he will get it right so many more times. When he came home from school he said he wanted to go to the depot, then he changed his mind but he does want to go tomorrow when we go “bowling bowling bowling.” He started looking at the basketball hoop that we have over the door. It had been a while since he looked at it like this. He stands so he can see its shadow and walks back and forth around it. I can tell he is processing more words and figuring out how to ask for something he wants. “The fruit song instrument,” he worked through to get to that phrase. He knows what video or object he wants but he doesn’t always know how to ask for it. With his words and connections, he is finding ways to say what he needs. “Leave the light off,” he said as we got into the bathroom and he turned off the light I just turned on. He wanted no lights on and I didn’t push it. There was still the reflection of light from the outside so it was at least ok for us. “Help you crack an egg,” he says to me when he wants me to do something on his tablet with him. The phrase comes from a game on his tablet from years ago. I’m not sure how it became a go-to phrase but here we are. I’m thankful for all he is learning and how much he has grown. In a thousand ways, in a thousand days, it doesn’t even matter what we think we know and what we know but it’s more about how we live our life. Kindness, compassion, and grace are the most beautiful things to witness and especially when you imagined it all differently. Make today matter. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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