Oh Alex. My grandson that beat all the odds. Howdy!!! Oh how I love to be greeted by this angel. "Hi Grandma!" never sounded more wonderful than when it comes from the lips of this young man, and always always always accompanied by a huge hug. I'll keep this upbeat and happy and looking forward to the future...but I'm typing this with tears in my eyes...okay, so much for happy, but they really are tears of love and gratitude. He was diagnosed in the autistic spectrum at 18 months...we were told he would never be potty trained...he would never speak...he would never attend a "normal" school...it was a pretty bleak diagnosis. But the Bowman family is either too stoopid or too optimistic or too "something" to accept such news. We just fell in love with this little feller. We all decided to teach (and learn ourselves) sign language so we could communicate some way with him...we jumped with him on the trampoline to make him smile, even if we were tired or achy or it was cold outside...his teenage uncles, Eric and Eli carried him on their shoulders and would have stood on their heads if it meant getting a smile out of him...we ran for him, did for him, bought for him, played for him, did anything and everything for him...we even invented a silly language called "Bowman-speak" that one can still hear remnants of if one listens carefully (it's silly-I'm just warnin' ya)...in short, we did everything we could for him without any thought of receiving anything in return, not even affection. He was autistic. We didn't expect a thing. Not. One. Thing. But we got it. Boy. Did we get it.
He was potty trained by age four, he's in the 5th grade in a wonderful Worthington school and yea, he struggles but he's in there and he speaks his mind...PLENTY!!! His hugs are incredible and I can't imagine life without this kid. He's been our Sunday School for 12 years now. We owe him plenty. Life with Alex...s'all good....
5 comments:
It's an Al-Burger Sandwich!!!! Happy Birthday, Alexander Mason. You're a cabbage!
Hahahha....I remember the cabbage thing...I did that with all of you kids...
I have No idea what the cabbage thing is. . .help!
I am not a very observent person . . .if I missed it please don't be offended. :)
An "adult" would ask a toddler a series of questions, typically meaningful and the little, cute, obedient child would answer compliantly....until it became mindless and then the "adult" (typically me) would ask, "Are you a cabbage?" and the little angel would nod, again obediently, while playing with something....mindlessly....and I would howl with laughter....
Olá friends i see blog and would spend of knows them better know can me better also is of Brazil São Paulo. e I have a pretty family as of voces beijus to all and happy Christmas and Prospero new year
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