The Day Would Come

It's been a long journey with Ben already at only 3½ years old. It's been a hard road for him and a difficult journey for our entire family at times. Then we get these gifts. These incredible moments of pure unadulterated joy and bliss. Moments when the entire family celebrates and screams with peels of laughter and happiness for Ben... because he is so incredible and amazing and he awes us all with his determination, strength, and perseverance.

I have long wondered if Ben would ever really speak "properly." If he would ever communicate well and effectively and speak in sentences. He has been putting two words together for a few months now, and every once in a blue moon he'll put three words together and shine us that million dollar smile to show us he knows that he did something special and how proud of himself he is. Still, I wondered if they day would ever come if he would talk in sentences.

The day would come.

Today, just this morning, Ben spoke his very first complete sentence. He said five words. FIVE. All together. Nobody prompting him or asking him to repeat -- not that he's ever put five words together under those circumstances either mind you -- but he just DID it.

This morning he happened upon a package of candy canes that Daddy bought to decorate the Christmas tree with. Ben, with his magical 6th sense when it comes to all things candy, immediately brought them to me and started saying "eat. eat. eat. eat candy" (and doing the sign for candy at the same time). I told him no, that it was time for breakfast and there would be NO candy for him at this time of the day. So off he went to have some breakfast and get on with the day. In the meantime I hid the candy canes figuring that this year decorating with candy might not be the best idea with both Ben and Kit in the house -- our little candy mongers. After he finished he came up into the family room and started looking around. I watched him because it was obviously he was looking for something specific and I was wondering what it was. After a few minutes Ben held up his little hands in the classic 'I don't know' position (hands by his head palms up) and said "Where da candy canes go?" -- as clear as a bell. I was so completely stunned by what I had just heard that I just looked at him in stunned amazement and muttered "what did you just say?" and Ben repeated himself "Where da candy canes go?" At that point I screamed to Ed in the kitchen "DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE JUST SAID!!!???" and the wild rumpus began. We all sang and danced around Ben in a circle with Ben in the middle clapping his hands and beaming that million dollar smile of his and looking so proud that I thought not only would my heart burst from my chest with pride but his would too. We all laughed together in that blissful joy I spoke of earlier and just relished the moment. The moment of Ben's huge accomplishment and major step forward in life.

This is huge. I mean just enormously, gigantically, colossally, tremendously HUGE. The day came and it was amazing. I know how much harder Ben has to work and has to push himself and strive for the every day things that other people take so much for granted and think of as such simple little things. I know that it takes a herculean effort on his part, and he's only 3 years old... and he never gives up... he never stops trying... he never gives in... he perseveres and gives it everything he's got and he DOES IT... he does it all... in Ben time... beautiful, magical, wonderful, amazing Ben time.