Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Hanukkah “Miracle”

Hanukkah came early this year and my son was ready for it. Kai was excited as we lit the candles on the Menorah. Then, we called the grandparents to wish them a Happy Hanukkah.

Talking on the telephone is not something that comes easy for him. Having a conversation in person is hard enough many times. He often does not answer questions or is distracted and takes forever to say something. Being on the phone adds another layer of complexity.

For the longest time after Kai started to speak, we would hold the phone up to his face but have to prompt him to say even a few words. He probably could not process what he was hearing from the person on the other end of the line. Usually we would feed him the words to say and he would repeat exactly as we told him. It wasn’t really a conversation at all, but the grandparents liked hearing the sound of his voice nonetheless.

Some time over the past year, he started to speak a little more freely on the phone. He even would respond back a little bit to whomever he was speaking with. We would still need to prompt him at times, but less often than before.

Last night, we just handed him the phone and he spoke with everyone all on his own. He wished them a Happy Hanukkah and told them about the candles we lit. He even invited one grandmother over to our house for a Hanukkah party, though she lives too far away to make it.

Hanukkah celebrates the miracle which occurred in 164 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) when one day’s amount of oil burned for eight days during the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem. Kai’s newly developed ability to speak on the phone may not be a miracle on that level, but, for us, it is certainly something to celebrate as well.

And, we wish all of you who celebrate a Happy Hanukkah!

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