Partied Out

(Erik and Sophie)

Erik had a great Sunday. Over the course of the day, we had six children come to visit. Sophie, one of his friends who also has WS, came to visit, as they were vacationing here in town. Erik played with Sophie and her little sister Ava and seemed to have a great time. Ace, the family's new baby boy, caused him to stop in his tracks briefly from time to time as he waited for the frightening infant noises that never came, but he seemed to enjoy his company, anyway. Erik even doled out (manly and casual) kisses when the kids left.

I put a stock pot full of beef stew in the oven in the afternoon and baked a berry cobbler. Friends of ours came to celebrate Brian's 40th birthday, and the house was once again full of children. Brian and I both agreed that Erik has turned the corner as far as playing with children goes. As I have said before, the most disabling facet of WS has been Erik's sensitive hearing. It isolated us from the world to various degrees for years now. While it is still an issue we struggle with, we are now able to enjoy the company of other adults for the first time while Erik plays independently with his friends. I noticed this happened a couple of weeks ago at Kathy's, when Erik stayed in the play room with Dominick for quite some time and I was able to enjoy a glass of wine without a child hanging from my neck. Truthfully, over the past four years, Erik has been less like a child and more like some sort of a fashion accessory I have worn to social gatherings. Without my lanky boy draped over me, I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I imagine this is a combination of Erik's friends maturing and becoming less unpredictable as far as noise and crying goes and Erik adapting to the noise of the outside world. Watching him adapt to compensate for and even overcome portions of his disability, sometimes so efficiently that it is difficult to remember particular struggles, is a beautiful thing to witness. He is amazing. I am also comforted by the fact that he has a high-quality group of friends who will grow up with him. Just like his parents grew up with me over the years.