Benjamin and Grandma

            I’ve been waiting almost four years for this. 

            Benjamin’s initial surprised look when I appeared for breakfast the morning after my arrival warmed my heart:  in the past, he has given no sign that he even notices me.  By the end of our first week together, he had me figured out:  the sequence of his favorite songs I sing, that I will honor his request for his See and Say most of the time, and my Cheerios routine. 

            Dana and Shawn use the See and Say as motivator and reward for practicing important skills like walking and climbing.  Though Benjamin does not talk yet, he clearly knows how to make requests with either signs or actions.  So when he crawls over to the couch, grabs the fleece throw, and turns to look at me, I understand he wants to play the See and Say game.  I pull out the toy from its hiding spot behind the end table and hold it at the top of the couch.  He laughs and then works hard at climbing up on the couch to get the toy.  I allow him a few turns with it once he is back on the floor and then snatch it away again.  He laughs, and we repeat the sequence.

            Even though Benjamin does not call me by name, he knows who I am.  And that is what I have been waiting for since the day he was born.