Love Thursday: Five

The Captain is Five and his progress is astounding!

The Captain turned five yesterday! Hence, today’s Love Thursday post.

Two years and two weeks ago, The Captain and his siblings walked through our front door. Two weeks later we celebrated The Captain’s third birthday. Back then, he had half-a-dozen to nine fits every day, some lasting up to 40 minutes. He was inconsolable. He had two fits during his birthday party, which was very low-key and small-scale so as not to upset him. He got a trike,;I remember it well. It was raining (for about a week) so he rode it all over the house. I’d have never allowed this in my previous life, but I’d do anything to make that child smile.

The Captain, at three, had a limited vocabulary of six words, five of which were from “Dora the Explorer.” He ate like a bird and was very short for his age. He had a terrible time going to sleep; no matter what our bedtime routine, he’d often lay awake for up to two hours, twitching his hands. He was not potty trained. He did not know any letters, how to count to three, nor any colors.

The Captain used signals to direct his siblings around and had a huge tantrum if things did not go his way. His discontent (which was constant) was expressed in grunts. He rarely, rarely made eye contact. His very few smiles were reserved for his sister. This was a heartbroken child.

Contrast that to today. Though he is not caught up to most age-mates in academics, The Captain is progressing by leaps and bounds. His vocabulary is now too numerous to count. He knows all his colors, a few letters, and can count to eight. He is a leader of games and fun for his siblings but rarely bosses them around otherwise. He eats like a horse and is growing like a weed.

While still traumatized, he is adjusting and adapting. His smiles are so regular, we notice more when he is not smiling. He falls asleep in minutes and sleeps soundly all night. He is actually quite funny. He seeks eye contact every few minutes; he is attached to me and attaching well to the other members of the family.

It’s miraculous. The Captain is a testament to the elastic nature of the brain– and the heart.

He’s five. It is beautiful.