I stood tonight watching Owen drink his “sip of water” from a regular bottle and my heart burst with joy. He always asks for ”a sip of milk”, generally right after he has gotten into bed so he can get back out, but has now started asking for it before he goes to bed. However, tonight after his sip of milk he asked for a sip of water. I thought hey let’s do this. He has used a water bottle numerous times before, but will squeeze it trying to make the water come out, drop it on purpose so he can say “oops you dropped it”, or stick his fingers in it. When trying to discipline Owen or teach him something the extremes usually happen. Whatever I said or did in those teaching moments are generally where things go. So even if I don’t realize the words I’m saying they influence our days, weeks, months to come. Like “a sip of milk”. I said this to him one night and the rest is history. And now a sip of water I believe will be added into the mix. We all handle life differently and our past crosses our daily path even if we try to put it behind us. As time moves forward I realize that I kept floating through our days, surviving not thriving. I took Owen’s silence hard because I needed him to communicate his needs and wants with me. I think this helped me grow as his mommy because every day I worked with him on talking, expressing his emotions, and letting him know he has choices, it made me realize I have them too. I tell him every day I love him and together we will find our way. There is no greater gift than Owen. Being his mommy has made me whole. We all have challenges, we all have a past, but it’s what we do with our future that matters. If we can’t learn from the moments we’ve been through then we will keep living through those moments. I see Owen’s successes, even on our challenging days and I celebrate them, each and every one. Today’s victories were numerous and I’m thankful for my sweet baby O. He has taught me so much about life. And his words today made me know that he is listening, processing, and growing. Autism is as much about how I handle it as it is about Owen having it. Let your past go, celebrate your victories no matter how small you think they are, and rejoice at how far you’ve come. Smiles to all and donut daze!
RSS Feed