Last night we went to my in-laws for Christmas Eve, and today we went to my mom’s house. And the monkey has been doing amazing. He’s been happy, smiling, and it’s been a really good day.Even though his schedule has been off, he seems to be enjoying the company.

Back home, while my husband decided to clean the garage to put make room for his new tools that he received for Christmas, I decided to stay out with the monkey and try an old toy. About three years ago, we gave the monkey a Big Wheel for Christmas. But it seemed that the coordination between peddling and steering was too much for my son to understand at the time. I figured with my husband outside, I could yell out for help in the event the monkey decided to make a run for it towards the reservoir.

And the monkey did really good. He understood that he needed to pedal to move forward and he understood that he needed to steer in order not to crash. Such a simple concept yet last year he couldn’t figure it out. It was such a joy to see him ride the Big Wheel and for him to ride it successfully, even if it was given to him three years ago. He was able to enjoy it now.

He kept looking towards the reservoir so I decided to take him over there, sit down close by and maybe throw some rocks. At that time my dad came to drop off some stuff we had forgotten and he decided to accompany us.

As we are standing next to the reservoir, my dad tells me let’s just go take him to see what he wants to see. And he decides to climb down, with the monkey in tow. I was trying to tell him how dangerous it is and how steep it is but by then he was already going down that it was too late to stop. I slipped about three or four times, and it’s full of thorns, but my dad and the monkey never fell. 😂 my dad was very careful and tried to teach my son how to go down. I think I was just being too cautious and too worried and didn’t realize that the monkey was having so much fun. He was so excited that he finally was able to go down.

Then my husband decided to join us, mostly because I think he heard how worried I was of how we were going to go back up. so we decided to go for it and try to figure out what is it that he’s constantly staring at. And then we had to climb up on the other side of the reservoir to try to get to his focal point.

Every time we drive down the cul-de-sac, the monkey starts clapping and wants us to go slow so he can look at whatever it is he’s looking at across the reservoir. Every time he can he will make a run for it towards a reservoir to get to see something over there. And today we had the opportunity to find out this mysterious view.

And what is it that we found? A house.

It’s a house.

There’s a lot of houses, I’m not sure why the monkey is so interesting in this specific house. But that’s what he wanted to see, a house. When we finally got close to their backyard, the monkey kept clapping because he wanted us to jump over the fence. We tried to explain to him that we are not allowed to do that, since this is not our home.

My husband was thinking that maybe we contact the homeowners, explain our situation, as unique as it is, and ask them if we do decide to try this again, if there’s a way that we could maybe get closer to their backyard to pinpoint, more in detail, what is it that my son is infatuated with. Maybe it’s a specific object?

I’m sure that conversation will be a little strange to have. 😂

And as we are climbing up, back to our home, we see some of the neighbors, that are farther down the street from us, and they are staring at us confused. I’m sure they were asking why on Earth would we go down the reservoir. I’m sure my dad, my husband, the monkey, and myself looked a little bit strange getting out of there.

So how do I explain the significance of today? First, my son was able to ride a Big Wheel! By himself! And he enjoyed it. Here we were. Parents doing a typical activity with our son. ✊💙

Secondly, how does one explain how my son has been staring at the reservoir for about 2 years now, and how we’ve never been able to figure out what it is. And today we did. How does one explain how difficult it is for us to get a glimpse of what he’s thinking, of what he’s feeling, of what he wants. And today we were able understand, even if it’s just a small piece of his thoughts.

Yesterday while we were at my in-laws, I was talking to my four-year-old niece. She was telling me how she loves Peppa the pig, and how she likes school. And it always amazes me how these kids are able to verbalize and have a conversation at such a young age. And I’ve always expressed that it’s difficult not to compare in how I can find out so much from this four year old little girl, and yet we struggle to get even a glimpse of my son’s thoughts.

And today, we receive just that, a small beautiful glimpse. And I couldn’t have asked for more. ❤️