We didn’t go to the beach yesterday. We actually got to stay home! (Yay!…it’s freezing out)
I put one of the old movies on and Jonah quickly got bored of it.
He started asking me if we could go to the store for a very specific toy.
“I want gorilla elevator!”
“I want take home gorilla elevator!”
“GORILLA ELEVATOR!”
“Daddy, I want Gorilla elevator!”
“Go to the store?”
“I want presents?”
“Go to the store…take home gorilla elevator?”
This went on for a long time.
I kept evading him. “You want to do WHATT??!”
“Jojo-bee!!” “Silly boy!”
It wasn’t an outright “no,” but I needed a good redirect and he had already had his favorite movie on, his tablet on, and gotten all of his toys out.
My redirection choices were few.
Since I wasn’t acquiescing, he climbed on top of me in case I couldn’t hear him so he could request directly to my face.
“GORILLA ELEVATOR!”
“Daddy, I want the ‘gorilla elevator!’”
“Daddy. Daddy. DADDY…”
I didn’t want to take him to the store. I don’t doubt he would do fine there (we’ve worked VERY HARD on that), but with him testing positive and this whole “protocol,” neither of us should probably go to the store.
Plus, I knew for a fact that his toy was not there. It was there around Christmastime, but it had been sold out long ago.
“I want ‘gorilla elevator.’”
Five years ago, I would have cried tears of joy to hear just one of those words.
Back when the only word he had in his arsenal was “done.”
And as he laid his head on my chest trying to bend me to his will, it made me reflect on this Ausome journey. At the victories and setbacks. At how far we have come… and how far we can still go.
One day, we will look back in wonder.
One day, I’ll look back at the struggles, the hardships, the sleepless nights, the endless hours of therapies, frustration, meltdowns… the tears of sadness, grief, pain, and joy…
I’ll look back at ALL OF IT and say,
“For you buddy, it was all worth it.”
In the end, we didn’t end up going to the store. We didn’t end up driving anywhere or bringing the toy home.
Because Daddy and Mama had ordered “Gorilla Elevator” a week ago.
And with needing to quarantine, we already had it in the house, “hiding behind the couch.”
We have been doling out new “exciting things” each day one thing at a time at home to get through our quarantine period.
Daddy and Mama heard you loud and clear buddy.
Here’s your “Gorilla Elevator.”
We are so proud of you.
(You should have seen the look on his face when he saw it.) 😀😭
#Ausome