151. Birthday Toys

Two flying men

One with wings, one with hands

Going around 

Fighting bad men in bands

Who can stop them

They fight side by side

Two little toys

Make my son smile wide

150. Buried

Buried in sand

Buried alive

Buried the memories

Buried the lies

Buried the fear

And the sorrow, too.

Buried is all of me,

Now time for you.

149. Beach

Water and sand and seagulls and kelp

These are the things of the beach

The sun in the sky and clouds do help

Keep the sun of my kids one and each

148.Father Is Watching

My little child so noble and strong

Why are you crying? The night is not long.

Your father is watching you hour by hour.

He will protect with his mighty power.

Father is listening; He hears your prayers.

Tell him your worries: tell him your fears. 

Sleep, child, sleep now. Find peace in your dreams.

Darkness will dwindle with sun's first bright beams.

147. Speaking Like A Man

Today while unloading the dishwashers Thomas asked for help finding his shoes. I told him I needed to finish what I was doing. His response was "I hep you finis de disses, and den you hep me find my saddals?" He then proceeded to help me unload the dishwasher and put away the silverware while I reloaded, asking me for help with a few pieces whose locations he wasn't sure of. After which we went upstairs together and found his sandals so he could go watch his dad mow the lawn. It was a sweet few minutes for us, but what really made my heart glad was that one little sentence. 

Except it wasn't a little sentence. It is actually quite a big sentence. There are multiple clauses, if-then correlation, sequencing, tonal fluctuations, two subjects, fourteen words. A year ago, he had about ten sounds that had attached meaning. I couldn't even call most of them "words" because "ba" meant ball, bath, baby, water, up, etc. 

we had him evaluated to see if he qualified for speech therapy with Early Childhood intervention, and at 24 months old he had the communication skills of a 14 month old. At 26 months he began working with a wonderful speech therapist. And now, a few days before his third birthday, he is speaking in complex sentences. I have seen him progress throughout this year, heard his rapid growth, but it wasn't until that sentence today that I truly realized just how far he has come.

 I am grateful for the dedication and love from his speech therapist who worked with him, encouraged him, and gave the interest and confidence in speaking that I could not muster. Even though Thomas no longer receives her services, she will always be a huge part of his development. Without her help, he would be a different child. 

I love listening to his sweet little voice, watching his mouth trying to form unfamiliar words and sounds. He still has trouble often pronouncing things perfectly, but he is now mostly intelligible. And there are times when I just have no earthly idea what he is trying to tell me, but generally he is able to show me what he is trying to say and we work on new words or better pronunciation. He is excited to learn new words and tries hard to be understood, whereas a year ago, he just didn't seem to care. 

I am so grateful for the amazing progress that he has made. It has been wonderful to realize this growth in my little boy.

146. Jessa And The Beanstalk (11)

"Why are you following me?" I yelled at him. "How could you do this?"

Walter put his hands up in the air, warding off my temper. "Calm down, Jess! I was curious. I just wanted to know where you disappear to all the time. You don't have to get mad at me." 

But I was mad. I was furious. My cloud kingdom was my life and he had made it disappear. I didn't know how the magic worked. Was it gone forever? Could I plant another? I began to scramble at the dirt, determined to find the other brand and create a new pathway to the sky. 

"Jessa, what is going on? What you doing? Look at me!" He yelled. I hadn't realized he had approached me until he grabbed my hand pulled me toward him. But I didn't look at him. As soon as I looked up I cried out with joy, for my beanstalk was back. Right behind him. Right where it was supposed to be.

Walter cocked an eyebrow at me like I was crazy. I probably seemed like it. Yelling and weeping one moment and crying out exultantly the next. But I didn't care. It was back. I was not cut off from my joy. 

Unable to contain my relief, I wrapped Walter in an ecstatic hug. "Oh Walter, isn't it beautiful?" I cried. He looked over his shoulder, but clearly had no idea what I was talking about.

"Umm...are you feeling well?" He asked me uncertainly, putting his hand to my forehead. 

I laughed again and told him I had never been happier. But I was also curious. I wanted to know how the magic of the beanstalk worked. I had never shared my treasured sky-ladder and so never thought how it might react to another person. I knew no one could see it from afar, but now I began to question the workings of the magic.

145. Jessa and the Beanstalk (10)

I knew I couldn't climb fast enough to get out of sight, so I hid myself behind the giant beanstalk. It was huge, definitely wide enough to hide my skinny frame. I crouched low, next to the boulder that hid my extra beans, and waited for the intruder to pass. He didn't.

"What are you doing, Jessa?" I heard Walter's voice and crouched lower. "Closing your eyes isn't going to make me go away." How did he know I had just closed my eyes? He was nothing special, surely. I stood slowly and waited for another signal, still not coming out from my hiding spot. "You're just going to ignore me? Pretend I'm not here? I know I'm not as handsome as Wesley, but geez, you don't have to look right through me."

"You can see me?" I asked quietly.

He scoffed. "I'm not blind."

I couldn't believe it. Standing between us was a plant so wide around that we couldn't touch fingers if we both tried to hug it, and yet, he could see right through it. He could see me, but I could not see him. How was it possible? 

I put my hand gingerly onto the beanstalk, afraid it might only be in my imagination. Surely I wasn't crazy. I had climbed this time and time again. It was solid under my palm, smooth to my fingertips, the winding tendrils tickling my outstretched arm. It was real.

Then suddenly it vanished and Walter was in its place, edging toward me like I was insane. Surprised by his sudden appearance, I let out a small scream, enough to halt his steps.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Jessa. What are you staring at?" He reached for my still outstretched hand, turning my palm upward so he could study it.

"But...you just..." I couldn't make out a clear sentence, I was so angry. He just destroyed my pathway to freedom. It was gone.