Wednesday, August 5, 2009

In Which Connor Enjoys Life

Connor was in an inexplicably cheery mood today. If he could whistle, it would have been "Zippity Doo Dah" from dawn to dusk. I was very tired, due to his less than stellar sleeping habits of the past few nights, but I've found it's impossible to be crabby when you have a child who believes you are absolutely the best thing that has ever happened in the universe and wriggles and shrieks with excitement whenever you come into his line of vision. He's down for bed now, and I can't go into his room because every time he sees me he starts laughing again. I couldn't get any good pictures of him today because he was so wiggly-- they're all just blurs of light and color, which maybe is appropriate as that's mostly what he looked like.

Of course it was laundry day, which might have had a little to do with it. Also I was wearing a swishy sort of skirt, which apparently shares the hilarious qualities of sheets and towels, so I was a walking punch-line all afternoon. Other than that there didn't seem to be anything in particular to make him so happy: he just was.

That's one of the wonderful things about Connor. He's such a enthusiastic participant in life that it's really, really hard to get down in the dumps while he's there to give you a new perspective on things. He's always astonished by everyday objects that I take for granted, and he makes me want to see the world through his eyes-- a world of such beauty and wonder that it makes him shout for joy. There's a reason that almost everyone who meets him falls in love with him.

There are people who believe having a child with special needs is a personal tragedy. Before I had Connor, I was probably one of them.

Now? Never.



~Jess

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5 comments:

Julia O'C said...

I feel the same way about Emmett: SO fortunate just have this person in my life. That's something that's hard to explain to a person who doesn't have a special needs kid, isn't it?

Lin said...

Just having a child totally changes the way you think and add to that the special challenges you all face together. It's nice to have a nice, smiley, funny day, isn't it. It's good to pack these days in your mind for when he's having a bad one. I used to do that with mine.

Jess said...

It is hard to explain, Julia. I can't stand it when people look at us and act as if we're to be pitied-- to Jer and me Connor is an absolute joy and we don't see anything tragic about having him in our lives.

That's true, Lin-- though honestly Connor is so good-natured most of the time that I have very little to complain about on that score. I figure the next one will probably be a total banshee to balance us out!

~Jess

Colleen said...

Isn't it awesome how little these kids need to be happy? Just a swishy noise and Mama and their gleeming with smiles! Glad he was having a great day!

Rena said...

I agree. It is difficult sometimes, but not tragic. And it bothers me when people look at my daughter as "the poor dear," and myself as some kind of saint. But I know people have no idea what it's like, so they can only imagine the worst.

 
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