Today was a fun day. Two of *my* kids have birthdays this weekend. WF is turning five years old (more on Chinese ages a little later). She is easily the happiest kid in my house and maybe one of the most cheerful little girls I have ever met. WF has also probably lived half of her life already. She has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, one for which the life expectancy is only 5 to 8 years...and that's probably under the best conditions. Which we haven't got. WF is moderately disabled, small and not strong. But she has a smile that just never stops, and she just doesn't dwell on all the things she cannot do, she is thrilled for all the things she can.
About a month ago I bought a baby walker to have another place for the babies to practice sitting up. By a wonderful (divine?) coincidence, this walker fits WF as well. It is higher and sturdier than most, so while normally she can only walk short distances with support, in the walker she can fly through the house under her own power. It's freedom of motion that she has never known before. wooooeeeee Now, thanks to the walker and some prodding from her housemother (ahem), WF is going to go to school on Monday - for the first time! We have rearranged things so that rather than having the tutor come to the house, WF and her buddy WX will be going to the XiWangLeYuan (School of Hope and Happiness) run by COAT. Not only will WF be enjoying the company of other children and learning in a rich and fun environment, she will get out of the house every day, something that up until now has been a rare treat for her. She is SO excited!
But back to the birthday party. It was another example of how the things that we take for granted are completely unknown to these kids. I put together the simplest of parties...a few easy games, some small treats, ballons and a cake. Add eleven kids from 2 years old to 12 years old and that was all we needed for a massively good time. Oh, and how could I forget those noisemaker thingies that you blow and the little paper unrolls. That was the biggest hit...and I am sure the ayis were saying very nasty things about me because of them. There was a LOT of noise!
I did say two of my kids had birthdays this weekend. Today my little hearing and vision-impaired boy, WT, turned 1. He has captured my heart, and I am so glad that I got to celebrate this special day with him.
2 comments:
D, What joy!
Love, Sink
this is a wonderful picture of you holding WT - very much in context, spontaneous, and communicative of your pleasure in WT and your work there.
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