Whether it is work or play, Christopher loves being a part of family activities. Today, Alice included him in her Easter Dinner preparation along with Ben and Abbie. He seemingly loved cooking as much as boating 🚤. Well, maybe not quite as much.
A man, who has watched our family interact with Christopher, recently asked me if Christopher can communicate. I confidently said "Yes!" He then asked if he can talk? I said no. Puzzled, he queried, "then how does he communicate?" I explained that Christopher frequently grabs our hand and takes us to the toy or activity location in which he wishes to engage, that Christopher understands English quite well, that we have learned to a degree to recognize his body language indicating that he is hungry or needs to go potty, etc. The following video demonstrates Christopher's ability to respond to verbal cues. We took this video in one take. I hope you enjoy watching it. Another activity our family enjoys doing together is concerts. For years, we have been going to the Ryan Shupe Christmas concert, and occasionally his other shows. Christopher has a couple of his albums on his iPAD. When Christopher heard his favorite songs tonight, he squealed with joy. Our neighbors were so kind and patient with his exuberance. The following video was actually one of his more mellow responses :) One of our family's Christmas traditions is going to Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols." At the end of the show, Michael always leads the audience in singing his song "We Can Be Together Forever Some day." Tonight, while we were singing, I was holding Christopher's hand, and he turned to me and gave me a kiss on the lips. I believe God grants us tender mercies in many ways. I have always longed to hear Christopher say, "I love you Dad." I heard it and felt it tonight. Last night Christopher had another fun adventure courtesy of the United Angels Foundation and the sponsorship of MassMutual. UAF members were invited to spend the evening, free of charge, at the Loveland Aquarium. The Tropical, Amazon, Antarctic, and Utah exhibits were amazing. Christopher loved putting his hand in the water to feel the starfish (the "petting zoo" exhibit for sting rays was closed for cleaning). He also had a blast on the rope swing bridge and crossed it all by himself! Thank you UAF, MassMutual, Loveland Aquarium and all the other UAF donors that make experiences like this available to Christopher and the many other children with special needs that came last night. Christopher and I both needed hair cuts, and my wife, Alice, finally informed me (yesterday) that "today is the day." So Christopher and I went to Sports Clips in St. George taking in some college football on the big screen while we waited. I thought the "MVP" package which included a scalp massage, hair wash, steamed towell wrap, and massaging chair sounded nice, so I signed the contract--curious what Christopher would think. His stylist, Rachel Loo, was very patient and treated Christopher like any other client. He smiled, laughed, and giggled the whole time. It was a great outing with my son and again reminded me that Christopher, like the rest of us, enjoys pampering too. My stylist, who I believe was Mandee, was also excellent and didn't "rush" us through to get onto the next client. Thank you Rachel, Mandee and the rest of the St. George staff for making our hair cuts a memorable experience, and thanks to the other patrons who were there who smiled along with me while listening to Christopher's expression of enjoyment. When I was Christopher's age, 14, I lived in Idaho where the legal age to get a driver's license is 14. Like me and most every other teenage boy, Christopher loves to drive. I have not figured out a way for him to safely drive a car yet, so for now, he is content driving the law mower with his grandpa :) Alice, Christopher and I had the opportunity tonight to listen to my law school classmate, Steve Young, speak. Steve gave an inspirational talk about the importance of making the most of the opportunities that life presents us rather than complain about what is not going well. Christopher is the epitome of Steve's message. Steve was kind enough to give Christopher a high five and pose for a picture too. Thanks Steve! When a child like Christopher does not talk, it is often difficult to comprehend what he understands, wants, or needs. This evening, my law firm participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Christopher sat dryly in his chair by his mother and watched all the people poor buckets of water over their heads. One empty bucket ended up in front of Him. He picked it up. Looked at me, and I instinctively understood his thought: "Dad, what about me? Where is my bucket." We try so hard to include Christopher in everything we do, and sometimes make the wrong decision to exclude him. He let me know that I had wrongly denied him the opportunity to participate. Repentant, I filled the bucket part way, and put it in front of him. He promptly picked the bucket up and poored it on himself, and laughed and giggled at the opportunity to participatelike everyone else. Even on an occasion where an activity is occurring to raise money for a disabling disease, disabled Christopher makes it known that he can participate to. Though I am a huge ABILITY advocate, tonight, I needed a reminder to include Christopher too. Perhaps some of you will be encouraged from this experience to make an extra effort to include special children around you in activities that you may have previously determined they cannot do without seeking their opinion. |