Ethan’s Progress Report

Last week I hinted at sharing good news about Ethan.  Then, life got busy with school, a special birthday party, planning for October, and a stomach bug that quickly made its way through our home.  So, the good news, while still at the forefront of my heart, had to take a seat on the back burner while I was able to get caught up a little.

What happened last week was so especially exciting because, honestly, I did not really ever foresee a day when this would happen.  Of course we have dreamed about Ethan talking and reading and going to college, but we know that the reality is that he might never do those things.  While we are perfectly happy with the super-incredible person who Ethan is right now, we do want amazing things for his future, just as we do for Summer and Gabriel.

So, when Ethan’s teacher sent home a book for him to read, I fully expected to just read it to him each night, knowing that reading to a child is one of the best ways to develop fluency, comprehension, and a love of books, in general.  When I opened up the book, however, I thought, “Ethan knows these words.  He can read this.”  So, we gave it a shot.

What happened next had me jumping up and down, sending emails, and making telephone calls.  My Ethan read the entire book.  He said some words, approximated some words, and signed some words.  It was just a basic Kindergarten entry-level book, but, to me, it was a novel of epic proportions.  We read it every single night, and on Friday, Ethan read it to his teacher, too.  We are all so incredibly proud of his huge accomplishment!

As with everything in life, we enjoy the moment and then move on to the next big…or small…thing.  We celebrate, we dance, we send emails, we hug, we give high-fives, and we know that, in that particular moment, everything is good and perfect and just as it should be.  Just as there are good days, we understand that there will be bad ones, too.  But, honestly, knowing that simple truth is what makes the good days that much better. That is what makes reading a small book a reason to celebrate the huge step in Ethan’s much larger book of life.