Today I was......

savoring the sweetness of success. It just occurred to me that yesterday was a big milestone. We went to see a movie at the theater. For the past couple of years, she has covered her ears because the volume was too much for her. So much scared her in the content of a rated G movie. Sadly, she was watching My Little Pony with her sister, a show she loves. They got to a scene where there were babies in a hospital and she made her sister turn it off. We have much to be thankful for though, the theater movie was a complete success. It was fun to see her even 'get' some of the humor and hear her laugh. Today we went to the grocery store. I remember the days when that was a nightmare. She would try to just run off, not caring about being away from me or out of my sight. She would go around touching everything. She still likes to touch, but now she will listen. She is so polite and says, "Thank you mommy." and "I'm sorry mommy." She is kind, she is considerate, and she is happy. The biggest thing that happened at the store was that she stayed back to get on the big scale. I noticed a second later that she wasn't next to me or right behind me, but I saw where she was going. I kept walking through the door but could still see her just a few feet away. She got down from the scale and the automatic doors started closing on her. She jumped back until they started opening again. SHE SENSED DANGER!!!! This is a big step for her, this has been very slow in coming. She has been very aware of danger lately. When we were crossing the street to go into the store she explained to me why she needed to watch out for cars. I'm not so distanced from the way things were not to appreciate the way things ARE.

Last week we were with a little friend who got hurt. She was screaming loudly and crying. S got far away from her and covered her ears. After a few minutes, she slowly walked closer and gently put her hand on her friend's arm. She stepped back, and then came back to her about a minute later and did the smae thing. That was a very big thing for her, her compassion overpowered her fear. I am so proud of her. We have more mountains to climb, but we have all the gear we need to climb them. Slowly but surely, we will get to the top.