Something strange happened today...one of my offspring OFFERED to help the other. So what? Big deal right? Yeah, until you hear who it was that did the offering...
GUNNAR!
My Gunnar, my Gigi, my son, offered to help another human being...unsolicited. My Gunnar...my Gigi.
I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor as I watched him HELP his little brother carry his shoe box to the closet and put it back in it's cubbyhole. Even as I type this one out...I am still having trouble believing it...and I saw it with mine own eyes. OOPS...I need to pick my jaw up again.
Still shaking my head.
For those of you not familiar with my son, Gunnar, and why this is such a huge deal to me...
Gunnar lives up to every bit of his Warrior name. He came into this world screaming...almost as loud as my screaming as I pushed him out (it is rumored that I could be heard in the waiting room down the hall, and scared all the other mothers in the ward). He was one of only 2 of our children to come home with us when I was discharged...and I checked out a day early. He was a colicky baby, didn't babble until he was 15 months, didn't say a word until he was 25 months, didn't use a sentence until he was well past 3, and now that he is 4 and words are finally pouring forth...there is a lot of anger and screaming mixed in with them.
Gunnar has always been twice as physical as he was vocal. He has a strength like no other 4 year old I've ever know...I have had 2 before him... He can be sweet as a kitten, or as rough and rash as a mountain lion. His anger can turn on a dime. He can over power me, he's a BIG 4 year old. He has broken the bones of others. He is a fierce protector...apparently we are not allowed to tell his other siblings what to do.
Gunnar knows no fear. Recently at a branch party in the country...he charged a charging Mastiff. Everyone was afraid that Max was going to barrel over him as Gunnar ran from him...that is until Gunnar turned on his heels and charged back at Max full throttle. Max tucked and ran.
Gunnar does not sleep well nor often, so kindness is not a willing attribute. Kindness and sleep do not pour forth from him, but when one or the other, it is truly amazing.
Gunnar has been diagnosed with:
Being the 3rd child (retracted)
Having a unique hearing disorder (retracted)
Being Autistic (retracted)
Being normal (Retracted)
Being Emotionally Disturbed (retracted)
Gunnar has now been diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified) and this is the first time that I have publicly shared that bit of information. Gunnar is a work of art, he has many harsh, dramatic colors, but like any good piece, he has depth, subtle hues of kindness. He is ever evolving, when you look at him from the outside, you see an angry, defiant brat, as I have overheard many a time in public. But, if you truly know him, you see his frustration, his learning, his coping the best that he can.
My biggest fear for him, is that one day he is going to over hear a snarky remark from some ignorant onlooker in a store, and he is going to redirect onto them, and I am not going to be able to stop him for one of two reasons:
1. He has over powered me.
or
2. I am going to be silently applauding him for defending himself in my head.
More than likely...it'll be option 1, but I cannot rule out option 2 unfortunately.
Gunnar is still a work in progress, we are still trying to figure out ways to help him understand right from wrong, good and bad, normal, acceptable, none of the above, how to make good decisions.
So now you'll understand what I mean when I say...A Miracle Happened. Because no one had to lay the choices out for him, no one had to coax him, we just happened to be looking the other way kinda sideways...you know so we weren't watching, but could still see everything that was going on. And it happened.
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