Optimistic Pessimist

I suppose I should stop saying that I see the glass as half-full and admit that I'm a pessimist. The glass is almost empty, for crying out loud.

When Buddy was diagnosed with Williams syndrome, I read as much as I could on WS and my pessimistic tendencies kicked into overdrive. It was easy to become bogged down in the things those with WS aren't supposed to be able to do. And it was easy to look at the goals we were setting for him in his therapies and think, "Will he ever get this?"

When the therapist says, "Oh, he'll get it eventually--just give him time," I find myself thinking, "Yes, but he's not a typically developing child who just has a few delays in some areas. He has a GENETIC DISORDER. He's not guaranteed success." I know--not the best attitude to take, is it?

Lately, however, he's been reaching the goals we've set for him. He walks, he runs, he jumps, he's started talking, and just today, he said, "I have to go." Husband had started potty training with him in May, 2011. I figured that, at this stage, it was an exercise in futility since he wasn't really expressing his wants and needs and wouldn't tell us when he had to go. We've just tried to catch him in the act and sit him on the pot to finish. But today, he stood up, and said, "I have to go." And he did. On the pot. And there was great rejoicing.

He's also been doing really well at puzzles lately. Visual-spatial deficits are common among those with WS and they aren't supposed to do well at things like puzzles. But all of his therapists have been working with him on them (as have we), and just in the past few weeks, he's been able to place the puzzle pieces -- even on ones he's encountering for the first time -- in their appropriate places.

And so, I've decided that I really need to get a handle on the pessimism and start approaching his life in a more half-full way. He will learn to feed and dress himself; he will learn to color in the lines; he will transition to a big bed; and he will learn to use the potty. He will. It may take him a little longer to learn things, but he will.

And, down the road, when the goals get bigger--reading, writing, going to school--we'll work just as hard at mastering them. He may not be guaranteed success, but it's up to us (while leaning on our gracious Lord) to make sure it's a viable option.