look, mama

*

“Look, Mama!”

I follow the little arm to the very end of an outstretched finger. I look into the distance to see what she is pointing at.

“What do you see, baby girl?”

I am nearly breathless.

“I see the blue house.”

I can barely contain myself.

“I see it too, Brooke! Yes! The house (which was actually a small industrial looking building) is blue! Thank you so much for showing it to me!”

She is three weeks shy of six years old.

“Look, Mama!”

The words play again and again in my ears like a sweet, rhapsodic concerto.

I think back to that first evaluation.

The doctor said, “She lacks shared enjoyment.”

I’d never heard the phrase before, but the truth in the words was painfully obvious.

“She does not point to objects or seek to engage others in any type of cooperative play. She does not share observations about her surroundings as would a typically developing child.”

OK, so it took nearly six years. Brooke has never claimed to be on anyone’s schedule but her own.

But there it was.

No prompts.

No prodding nor urging nor cajoling.

Just a blue house.

An outstretched finger.

And an overjoyed Mama.

About these ads