Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Catching Up


When Ethan was 4 years old, we bought him a three-wheel scooter. We were hoping, despite his lack of coordination due to his autism diagnosis, that we could work with him to get him to ride it. But it proved to be too much for him, and the scooter soon collected dust in our garage. Ethan walked to his first grade class last year while his peers zoomed by him on various scooters, bikes and skate boards.
Then, a few weeks ago, our neighbor’s son invited Ethan and James to play with him. He and some other kids were racing down the street on their scooters. At his point, Ethan’s three-wheel scooter was too small for him, so one of the girls graciously offered him an extra Razor scooter in her family’s garage. I held my breath as he shakily pushed himself down the sidewalk, trying to stay in the race. But then it clicked, and the look of worry on his face blossomed into a smile. I think practicing taekwondo all these months gave him balance and coordination he needed to ride a scooter.
We bought Ethan his own Razor the next day. Now he zooms down the street to school with all other kids, and my heart swells at the sight of it.

13 comments:

Laurie said...

What a great story. It gives me hope that my own "baby" will zoom some day...
Laurie

hokgardner said...

Attawaytogo Ethan!

Destiny's child... said...

Wow! That's wonderful!
Kudos to Ethan for doing it and to you too, for being a super mom. :)

Stat Mama said...

That is just the greatest! Best thing I've read all day :)

jabblog said...

That is such a heart-warming story. Obviously it was just the right time for Ethan . . . awwww!

Lynn said...

My heart swells with pride for Ethan (and you) just reading this. What a wonderful achievement.

TALON said...

Sweet photo! Yeah for Ethan! That's fabulous!

Maude Lynn said...

Go, Ethan, Go!

That's just wonderful, Cathy!

Janice said...

That's awesome! DuckyBoy has loved his 3-wheeled scooter but it is starting to look like a little-kid version. We did get him his first 2-wheeled bike this year though. Maybe scooter next year!

Kathleen W. said...

That's such a great story, and I'm glad that Ethan found something else that he's good at.

Dawn said...

Yay! That's great! He must love it just as much as you do.

Kathleen said...

Thats Fantastic Cathy, you must be just beaming and he must be very proud of himself.

Anonymous said...

YAY Ethan! A was the same way with his bike this summer, and it was a great feeling to see him master it. :)