Magic Moments

             So, today I did not get to go to a wedding.  I also didn't get to go to a memorial service.  And although they probably both involve cake somehow, the wedding was likely to be more fun.  The wedding was out because Goo had the memorial service (for his uncle) and it takes two to bring Feisty Pants anywhere.  The memorial was out because it is very hot and humid today, which means Feisty Pants is cranky and wheezing.  Since I didn't know the a/c situation at the service and there would be lots of people with all their germs (you all have cooties where Feisty Pants is concerned)  and their perfumes and deodorants and various chemicals we all carry, we decided it was best to stay exiled here in air conditioned Feistypantsland. Missing a gathering is less stressful on everybody than ending up sick because of a gathering.  Parents of feisty ones miss all sorts of gatherings due to both physical and emotional logistics.   Sometimes we miss them from simple exhaustion.   But make no mistake, we MISS them. It's not personal, I promise. Feisty Pants was not thrilled by our new assassination attempt.  (She is sure we are trying to kill by boring her to death.) However, rather than sit around feeling bored and sorry for ourselves, FP and I have decided to think about all the things we do get, that you probably never will.

              I'm not even talking about the crazy ones.  Not the bet you never saw someone do cpr on your kid ones.  Not the how many helicopters has your three year old been on ones.  (Feisty Pants used to be like a mini Vietnam vet, she would get frightened at the sound of loud lawn mowers.  We'd have to cover her ears if a helicopter went by.  She thought they were coming to take her away.  Again.)   Not even the doing the happy dance because you found a vending machine with peanut m and m's at three am ones (yay protein...) or because the soup in the hospital cafeteria was actually hot and tasty.  No, I mean the everyday things that amazing and astounding when experienced by someone who has to see the world in a much different way than you or I ever will.   One of the best parts about being a parent is experiencing the world brand new through your kid's eyes.  When the eyes belong to a feisty one (literally or figuratively) it will absolutely blow your mind.

               When Feisty Pants was about 17 months old, I took her outside in the rain.  She was amazed.  She has cortical visual impairment (her eyes work but her brain doesn't put the picture together well).  She understood water comes out a faucet but the idea of water coming out of the sky?!?  Holy Cannolis was her mind blown.  She couldn't for the life of her figure out where it was coming from.  It was magic, pure and simple. For fifteen minutes, I was a wizard and we danced in the rain.
                Or, when FP was in the NICU, the nurses would tell me when her sister had arrived on the floor the NICU was on.  NICU's are always hidden away behind locked doors and hushed hallways.  Less commotion for fragile babies that way.  Hippie Pants would arrive with her father when he got out of work.  (I went over about noon most days)  The nurses would tell me "Your daughter is getting off the elevator now."   I assumed they had cameras or something.  Turns out they didn't.  The nurses were watching FP's stats on the monitors.  Her breathing would slow but her heat rate and sat rate would rise.  All signs of being alert but calm.   The nurses said siblings did that to the babies.  Not the moms and dads, siblings.  Almost like they know their teammates.  
               I know of parents of kids with autism who talk of magic moments when the kids are happy and calm, usually concentrating on exploring the world in some minute detail.  They talk about watching their kid and being in awe of exactly how at peace they are.
              My sister, who had Down Syndrome, never met a human being she could not make a connection with or find common ground. (Hi Marc, wherever you are)  Most mornings, I cannot stand myself without three cups of coffee and a splash of holy water.
              Well, those are the magic moments we thought of to while away a boring stuck in the house afternoon.  What are your favorite magic moments with your unique visionaries?  Share in the comments.  Tell them to your friends or kids.  Go on, ask them what their moments are.  Get the conversation started.  You will learn something fun.