The incredible stuff...

*photo taken from google search- not my image.

You know, I’m a ‘perspective gal.’ In fact, it’s one of my favorite words. And you all know how much I love words. Letters, text, symbols, meaning, concepts about print… if I could pick my favorite aspect about our culture…. *Scratch that. Let me explain it this way: If I was an alien observing our world, what would be the most incredible feature I would observe? Answer: Words, meaning, literature. I’m absolutely enthralled with the learning, teaching, speaking, and communicating that is done through language and it’s written form. Bored yet? Well. I do. Like words. A lot. *Music runs a close second… but again, it’s all based on words, symbols… Cool.

Stupendous. *nice
Do you spell Lindsey with an E or A? *huge deal
Two, to, and too… *when a 28 month old kid can use it in a sentence perfectly.
Jericho. *when you are corrected from saying it- because a person doesn’t like the word.
Parched. *for the same reason above.
Love. *it’s a noun AND a verb.
Finagle. *looks so wrong but is so right... and cool, too.
{You get the idea}

So here is where a nut like me can be pushed over the edge. They have a kid. And that kid seems to dig words, too. James is that kid. From an early, early age he’s had a fascination with words, letters, numbers, and books. From pregnancy on, I would read aloud to him. Everyday, several times a day, with out fail. Not because I’m a super aware mom- but because it’s a similar interest of mine. AND I’m Reading Language Arts Early Education – 8th grade teacher. *Back to the point of the story, I can remember at 8 months old, James’ Mother’s Day Out teacher pulled me aside one day and said- ‘You know, James has a really long attention span when it comes to books and reading.’ I knew that but didn’t pay much mind to it. He’s had the same attention span since early on. He will sit and ‘read’ a book for 45-50 minutes at a time. By 18 months James could recognize and identify his name in print. James mastered his ABC’s about 19 months *and I'm not talking just singing the song- and by 21 months he would ‘read’ words by calling out the letters by name in a sequence. By 24 months he could spell his first and last name for memory. He just has a knack for words. I could go on and on about his age and stage of mastering certain skills--- but it will belabor the point of this post.

*Don't begrudge me for bragging about my kid. I've earned the right: labor, delivery, nightly feedings every two hours, playing monkey.like in his poop--- so just go with it.

James did something yesterday that was beyond what I could imagine. I was shocked, thrilled, and astounded at what I found. Okay let me set this up. James saw these forms on our breakfast table. They were real estate feedback half sheets of paper. There were questions followed by lines providing space for you to write your response. Well, James saw the papers and the pen and asked if he could ‘work.’ I was getting supper on, so I said- knock your socks off. He was sitting in a chair without a booster seat- so he was still a bit low on the table- but he loves being a ‘big boy.’ About 7 minutes in to his ‘working.’ He told me to come over and ‘read his work.’ Supper was at a pause, so I walked over to see what he was up to, expecting the typically scribbles and lines that I have always seen him do. I looked down and that’s when I started freaking out. “James! Did you do that!? Holy cow. Marcussss! Get in here! You’ve got to see this.” James was totally stoked by my over.reaction. Now, below is a picture of what I found. *James Neal is 28 months, 3 weeks and 1 day old when he did this. So not even two and a half.


Notice how there are letter like characters between the lines. Notice the spaces between the letters and even spaces between the ‘words.’ Notice how the characters are even letter.looking. Notice how each character looks like a single letter… not a run on of several. *click the pic if you can't see it well enough.*


James isn’t even old enough to have the fine motor skills to hold and control the pen well enough to produce this sort of thing. I’m NOT saying that he is a genius. Not by any means--- but it does prove how smart a kid can be when you expose them to things and show through daily life and interaction the importance of reading, writing, and communicating. James has only picked up on the things Marcus and I hold important in the scheme of our day, down time, and recreation.

Back to perspective. Life is about spin. Options. Choices. All with me at the wheel in control choosing how to see, feel, and react to things. There are as many bad aspects to my day as can be good… in fact, one can’t exist without the other. BUT it’s in the perspective that makes me an empowered and proactive person. I love it when God gives me a little jolt in my day. Like walking over and seeing James as a smart and gifted and dynamic little creature. It didn’t cost me a penny. It didn’t take some huge effort or sacrificed time. It was small, free, and absolutely priceless. Being aware of the daily blessings that flood my life makes me aware of bigger things. I want to be here seeing the bad and embracing the good. Today. Conscious. Living. Learning. Real. Soaked through with perspective.

Peace, xo.