wanna come to a birthday party?

Jake’s birthday is coming up in a month; he will be 5 years old. I have never planned a birthday party for him in the past, since birthdays were always bitter sweet.

When he was one, I was still so naive about his condition, and had no idea what was ahead of us; When he was two, I was much more aware of the severity of his developmental delay, and I was frantic in searching for every therapy out there, while still holding on to the hope that one day, he will be “normal”; When he was three, I went through a period of depression, and some nights I saw no light at the end of the tunnel; When he was four, I began to realize that life has to go on in spite of Jake’s disabilities, but I still didn’t know how. Then I started this blog because I wanted to remind myself out loud, in words where everyone can read, that I want to and must celebrate my son for who he is, disabilities and all.

In a month Jake will be 5, I feel like I have come a long way. I can now walk into a park full of children running and playing without falling apart; I can now tell the psychologist who evaluated Jake that I don’t care if he labels Jake mentally retarded, because a label does not define who Jake is, not yesterday, not today, and certainly not tomorrow.

So this year, I am planning a birthday party for Jake, and if you would like to join the party, just let me know!

Jake got his first certificate

Today, for the first time ever, Jake received a “Huge Success” certificate from his special education teacher at school. The Certificate reads “Presented to Jake Li, for good Listening. Jake is having a great day! He is repeating more words + following many 1 step directions. He was placed on the toilet at 10:15 and at 10:20 he was successful!”

As if that wasn’t enough to put me in a good mood after a long week of work, Jake’s PT told me during therapy at school this morning, Jake walked 10 steps on his own, and everyone at the therapy room who saw it were cheering for him!

OK, I officially announce I need more days like today! :-)

Great job, Jake!