"She's Smart"

When Oia's first neurologist diagnosed her has a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, he in the very same breath advised us to "familiarize ourselves with mental retardation" because he strongly felt this was what we'd be up against. Our girl... mentally retarded, a hole in her brain.

Numb. Words that stung. Still the worst day of my life.

To this day, the words of that less-than-desirable doctor make me tear up every single time I revisit that moment. So why relive the moment?

Because I'm a remember-where-you've-been kind of girl. Because I appreciate the path that lies behind me since after all, that path has brought us to today. And today is good.

Because when your child's preschool teacher informs you that she'd like to move your child into a class of 4 year olds; saying things about your child like "she's smart" and "she's ready for pre-academics" makes it really hard not to remember the once spoken words of that painful moment, but suddenly, they're not so painful anymore for someone else sees the potential we knew she had all along.

We know a girl today who is bright and inquisitive. We know a girl who is identifying colors, learning letters and numbers. She is participating in literacy centers, math centers, and calendar time. She is enjoying recess and PE with her classmates; on her own two feet. She is socializing and her personality is blooming. She is aware. She understands completely. And we never, ever doubted it. Not for one second.