All is Fair in Love and Playgrounds

Yesterday was an amazing day for the Bolands. Not only did I have the day off from work, but it was a big day for Brody and for me. I realized that all kids are the same...on the playground.

After a morning hanging out at the house watching "Tangled" I took the boys out to eat for cheese
"ques-ka-di-yas" as Destin says, then we went to Fenton City Park. We were not the only ones with this idea apparently because the place was hoppin.' I barely found a spot to park.

We set up shop right in front of the jungle gym/slide thingy. Destin ran off to the swings. Last time we went to the playground, about 2 months ago (hey we moved, we barely have time for this stuff anymore!) Brody just mingled around, wandered, occasionally went up the stairs, occasionally wanted to swing. Mostly he would run around aimlessly as I chased him.

But not yesterday.

Brody was on a mission; to conquer the twisty slide. He climbed up the stairs, waited his turn, went down the slide, all while looking and smiling straight at me. He did this for almost 20 minutes. It was wonderful. He blended right in with the other little ones (except he was wayyyyy cuter!). He was screaming, yelling, running around, looking at other kids, jumping on the bridges, climbing the walls of the jungle gym...it was amazing to watch.

But it did not end there...little boys would come up to him and want to share things (like sticks, rocks, dirt, mud) and he totally reached out his hand each time to grab theirs. Yes, there were almost some tears at the park...from mommy!

Brody also, like any 3 year old, was fearless. The monkey bars are a favorite. While Destin, my cautious child, wanted me to hold him up while he moved from bar to bar, Brody just went for it. He would hang for a minute, then move to the next bar. He did this for almost 30 minutes. It was awesome.

Normalness is something we all take for granted; I know I did before Brody's diagnosis. I took potty-training as just another chore, not a daily victory. I took using utensils has mere mundane routine, but it is a great achievement to see Brody eat cereal. I also took sharing as a "requirement" of children, not as developmental growth. But it is such a sign of development and relationship building.

After today I realized why Brody was sent to us, so we would never take anything from our children for granted again. Everything they learn and do is a gift...even sharing a mud pie.