After our day at the children’s hospital yesterday, it was important to me that we have a fun day today. And that is exactly what we did. We started the day off with snuggles on the couch, both Tessie and Christian woke up in wonderful moods. Then the kids, my mom, and I all had breakfast with my Grammy. The kids were, of course, thrilled to get pancakes, and my Grammy enjoyed the visit. After my mom dropped her off at home and climbed in the car with us, it was time for the real excitement, the aquarium and botanical gardens!
I had an ulterior motive in mind today, which was getting Christian to walk in his “car” all by himself. As I have previously mentioned, he has recently renewed his interest in the walker and I thought that, with proper motivation, I could really kick him into high gear. What better motivation than fish? I was right.
From the parking lot to the ticket office it was a little slow going, but as soon as we got into the building Christian took off. The wheels on his walker are set really loose to make it easier to propel himself forward but, unfortunately, this also makes the walker move in crazy directions if Christian leans slightly more to one side. This didn’t bother him at all and he just went for it. I tried to keep him from running over or into people and helped him up various ramps to the fish tanks.
At his first glimpse of the fish he was in heaven. Tessie would call him on and he followed her from tank to tank. By the time we made it to the floor-to-ceiling tanks, Christian was literally jumping up and down with excitement. At one moment he was gyrating in the walker with pure joy, the next he was starting, open mouthed, at the tanks. The last tank in the aquarium is huge. It spans roughly twenty feet and reaches from the floor to the ceiling. The best part; There are sharks in this tank. Christian was beside himself with glee.
We finally left the building and walked outside to get a snack before entering the botanical gardens. Christian’s new aptitude for waking followed him outside and he walked all by himself across the courtyard. I did have to nudge him occasionally to keep him from falling into holes and running into pillars but he did the walking part solo. I was so amazed, I expected the entire pavilion of people to break out in applause.
The most amazing part of the day was yet to come. After the botanical gardens we were completely wiped out. Christian was asking to go night night and was no longer walking, he was in my arms. We were dragging his walker, with difficulty, and all four of us were melting. Incredibly, both kids were still happy and behaving wonderfully. When we mentioned going back to the car they both asked to go back to the aquarium. Once inside Christian got back in the walker and walked through the whole building again! This time there were several stretches during which he held my hand while he was walking. We have never, ever, been able to walk hand in hand. How I kept from crying is beyond me.
The day even ended well. I was amazed that the kids didn’t fall asleep the moment we left the parking lot. Instead they chatted happily to us and each other the whole drive back to my mom’s. They were angels through dinner, bath, and bedtime routines. I kissed their smiling faces goodnight and shut the door.
I have never experienced the kind of pride I did today, walking hand in hand with my son through the aquarium. I could tell I wasn’t the only one who felt it. Christian walked tall, and never complained. The right motivation was all he needed to, literally, step it up. The joy emanating from him today was beyond beautiful. What a day.
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