Guest Post: Auntie Erie was taken by surprise

Tonight's post is my first guest post. I never anticipated or sought out guest posters since this blog has been more of a diary to me than anything else. But some stories are too big to be told second hand. They need to come from the source.

Erie has been a part of Sam's life literally since the hour I learned that his heart was beating. She has loved him, for who he is, since before he was born and he adores her.

Thank you, Erie, for sharing this special moment with us.

I've never been so grateful for a messy car. ;)

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Today was a bit of a shocker from the start. I hadn't seen Sam since he started his new class. I knew he has been growing leaps and and bounds, I just couldn't fully appreciate it until I saw it. Today Sam was what I so eloquently referred to as "Instant Sam". Sam has always taken a little time to warm up to me. He is amazing and smiley and happy when he does, but the transition time is usually there. Today blew me out of the water. Today he was smiley right off the bat. He held my gaze (eye contact has never been an issue between us, but even my 6-year-old has problems holding my gaze for the full 5 seconds Sam did!) and smiled and giggled. We threw him in the snow, took dozens of pictures, and marvelled at how much he had developed in the last 4 weeks.

Nothing, however, could have prepared me for what happened next.

I took Sam's hand, and for the first time ever, he let me. He held onto it, looked up at me, and smiled. Sam is my buddy, but as I said before, it often takes him awhile to warm up to me. I took his hand and we walked back to the car.

As I lifted him into his his car seat, he twisted as if he was trying to look on the floor of the car. There was a pile of Sam's stuff - jacket, a lunch bag, and several toys. I remarked that he wanted to have a look, and he let me lift him back down to the ground so he could better inspect the pile.

Amongst everything were 3 discarded juice boxes, all empty. I paid little attention to these as I looked around to see if there was a beloved train or book nearby.

"What would you like, Sam?" I asked. I assumed Sam would grab what he wanted, or exclaim in frustration and his mom would offer up suggestions. What I did not expect was for Sam to lay a finger atop one of the empty boxes, and say (clear as day, I might add) "Juice".

The word still rings in my ears, 8 hours later. He did not grab one of the empty boxes, he did not get frustrated that I was taking my time looking for a toy, he did not go around to the other side of the car and get his mom. He gestured at the empty box, and said "juice".

I looked up at Zita in stunned silence. He did not mimic me (I hadn't said the word at all), and there wasn't a "was it/wasn't it" guessing game of the random sound he made. He answered my question in the clearest of manners. I could not get him the juice box fast enough.

Today was more than just giggles and smiles. Today was more than an "Instant Sam". Today was a glimpse into all that the future holds possible for this amazing boy.

Today Sam spoke.