The Many Faces of Mr. Blueberry Eyes

I'm so in love with my son these days. Let me explain. Mr. Blueberry Eyes was born three weeks early - a healthy, strong little man who was peaceful and calm and very sweet. How we enjoyed those first few months! Then, when he received his 10 month vaccinations all of that changed. I clearly remember the night. We were traveling and in a hotel that night, when he began to scream. He didn't stop screaming for 2 1/2 years. There were days I wanted to run away. No amount of the normal child training worked. You just could not connect with him enough to

train him. We prayed over him. We did our best and tried this method and that. He missed stage after stage of cognitive development. He missed the puppeting stage, the why stage. As a reading therapist, I was quietly agonizing as I watched this obviously intelligent little boy struggle to bloom. His words came slowly, but clearly. Laughing Water did his talking for him, and at age 4, he had never said his own name. I would practice with him, but he refused to puppet anything. Physically, he was very active and well coordinated, but, unlike Laughing Water, hated outdoor adventures. I began to get comments about my parenting and his behavior. It was hard, but I knew, after teaching so many other children that this was quite a unique situation. We did our best to keep him on a healthy diet and limit "screen" time. He refused to pray, so I put up some lovely

paintings of Jesus helping children by his bed. Once he could visualize that, he started to pray. We enrolled him a music class for therapy. It was a real trial, but we persisted. He would rock back and forth, nearly banging his head on the floor because of the intensity of the class, but I sensed he needed the therapy for his brain. Slowly, slowly, he began to improve. He began to show an intense love of animals, (hence the arrival of The Mighty Hunting Hound). He started singing on key at age 2.

The last few months have been quite like a normal child-raising scenario. His vocabulary has exploded. He is starting to narrate stories. He even cried today when we stopped cross-country skiing before he was ready. He is so proud of his two missing front teeth.

In October, he started violin lessons and this winter, he is taking downhill ski lessons and ice-skating lessons. He is actively earning Adventurer Honors from our church's scout club.

We are taking two years to do Kindergarten in school as he was not developmentally ready for first grade. However, the last few weeks I've seen a huge surge in his readiness. So, on Thursday, I asked him if he would like his first reading lesson. He was overjoyed! And, I must say, handled it extremely well. He is so excited that he is learning to read.

So, when I say I am in love with my son, you know why. I'm glad I never had a diagnosis. I don't want to know what labels he "should" have had. I'm just thankful to have my little man back - yes, even if he does play dress-up with his sister! - Nanette