 MINDI AT 4 YEARS
The year Mindi turned four was a very big year for her. She got a new Daddy, an older brother, and later in the year a new sister.  At this time the only way I had of communicating
with Mindi was by guessing by her smile. Then, "the day"
happened.We were in the kitchen making dinner. Mindi
always sat in her wheelchair in the kitchen and "helped"
me make dinner. As usual I would talk up a storm to her,
never expecting an answer. I was asking if she wanted a
certain item for dinner. I can't even remember what it
was. I said, "Mindi, do you want so and so for dinner?"
Then I looked at her to see what her reaction would
be. If she had a big smile the answer was
yes. No smile meant no. I looked at her and she nodded
her head yes. My mouth dropped open and the food went
crashing to the floor.By now Mindi is laughing her head
off. I look at Mindi and ask her, "Mindi can you shake
your head yes and no?" To which she nodded "Yes". Life
was really never the same after that. Any time Mindi wanted to ask a question
it was a guessing game. Sometimes it got kind of
frusterating, but most the time we were able to manage
pretty well.I remember one time. I timed it. 45 minutes
it took us to figure out what she wanted to ask us. She was working as a preschool assistant and there were
Chicken Pox going around. The teacher had asked her if
she had had them, and she thought she had, and she was
making sure.Always little things like that going on in
her mind. There we some tims that I COULDN't figure it out. Many a time I would be almost asleep when I would sit straight up in bed and say, "Now I know what she wanted!"
|
| | |
