There are 3 little words every girl longs to hear from that special boy. We dream about when, where, how soft or loud, in a crowd or alone. Is he saying it because I said it first? Is he saying it because he means it or just because he thinks it's what I want to hear?
My wait is over. For 7 years, 11 months and 12 days I have waited, and tonight it finally happened! Every mother can't wait to hear their child say "I love you." For most children, those 3 little words happened at around age 3 or 4, but unfortunately, that is not the case with children who are battling childhood apraxia of speech. There is no "set" timeline. It will happen when it happens. BUT, oh how sweet when it does! This night is one that I will never forget!
Now don't get me wrong. For years, Grant has been able to tell me he loves me in his own special way/language. For him, it has evolved from "muff me" to "I miss you" to "I midge you" to "I mudge you" to "I wuv you." But tonight... Oh, tonight was impeccable! It was bed time. Grant was in bed with me because he wanted to "snuddle". I held his sweet little body next to me and kissed him on the forehead. That is when he looked up at me and said, "I love you." My reply was that of a typical apraxia mom, "Wait. What? Say it again." and he did. "I love you." It was perfect! The /l/ sound was at the beginning of the word "love" and he said it spontaneously, totally unprompted and completely sincere. He meant it! Tears began to well up in my eyes as I hugged him tighter, kissed his sweet little head again and said, " I love YOU!" He said it again, perfectly. I kept repeating "I love you" to him over and again just so I could hear him say it back to me again and again. He soon drifted off into sweet slumber. Me... well... the tears have yet to stop flowing. Happy tears that is. Oh that boy... He melts my heart!
