No kidding. When I woke up this morning, I thought the day’s miracle would be Boston closing out the Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA finals. Right now the score is Lakers 37- Celtics 22 at the end of the first quarter, so I’m thinking a Celtics win might require more of a miracle than the universe is willing to dispense just now. And that’s OK with me for two reasons:
1. No team has ever come back from being down 3-1 to win the NBA finals. Boston can go close out the series this week on their home court. The long-suffering fans deserve it.
2. Simon began to walk today. So who cares about the NBA finals? Or work? Or the yard? Or anything. My toddler finally toddled! And so, on Father’s Day 2008, one day before Simon’s 20-month birthday, this mama exhaled deeply, cried a little, and felt her heart skip a beat even as her blood pressure dropped 20 points easy.
You still with me? I kind of buried the lede here. In case you missed it:
SIMON BEGAN TO WALK TODAY.
My phrasing here is deliberately circumlocutionary. He did not walk as I think of that word: He didn’t go from one side of the room to another all on his own. But he took three to five steps tonight, he knew he was doing it, and he repeated the feat five or six times. Thus, he began to walk.
Tonight reminded me of nothing so much as the night of March 28 when Simon pulled to a stand a dozen or so times in one night after doing it every two weeks (or two months) for over four months. For the past week, he’s taken little steps, but always under circumstances where he lost track of himself. The minute he realized he was unsupported, he’d grab on to something if it were available and sit down if it weren’t. Tonight, on the other hand, he took steps to move around a corner, he took steps to walk to my step mom Ruth, he took steps to go bug his Uncle Dan, and he took other steps I can’t recall exactly because it almost began to look normal.
Ironically, Simon took his first steps the week Amy had to cancel our physical therapy appointment with First Steps. I know he might not do this again tomorrow. But I have a gut feeling that we are very, very close to true walking. I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t come in two weeks or less.
In honor of this grand achievement, tonight we debut the “toddler” tag on the blog. Now that he’s gotten up and toddled, it only seems fair.