Oliver the rock star

It was four a.m. when I got out of bed this morning after falling fitfully in and out of sleep all night. Oliver, you see, had given me something to think about yesterday. A young man we know who has a brother that could be Oliver's twin had sent a request via Facebook. Here is the result:

My first thought was: "Thank God we have a piano!" But believe me, if the kid had asked for an upright bass, I would have run right out to buy one.

Sami can make long lists of the things he wants to try, have, learn about and avoid. Exploring his interests is easy. But for a kid with little language, and for whom communication is so difficult, figuring these same things out becomes a series of trial and error. 

Finding out that my boy wants to be a musician when he grows up is nothing short of a miracle. This is a kid who, just a few short days ago, had nothing but the present. He had no past or future tense. He couldn't even reliably answer a yes/no question. He still can't. Not verbally. It is absolutely astounding and confounding.

But I slept fitfully last night because I can't help but wonder why. Why is this possible for Oliver now? What shift happened for him that he can now express himself this way? He is an amazing, wonderful, ever-tolerant, special person. But no more than any other kid like him. If this is possible for Oliver, it must be possible for legions of others.

I wish I had more to offer than our story and some words on a piece of paper. But who knows? I'll bet someday soon Oliver will have something to say on the subject.