Translated…
My son is about to start serving his army terms, I’d told him to call home every week, but, he had that look of difficulty on his face, guess now, I’d become, dependent on him.
I’d recalled how slow he was to start speaking, I’d even believed that he was, autistic, gladly, after the professional diagnosis, he wasn’t, after seeing the doctors for two whole months, it seemed, that he’d, caught up suddenly, he started speaking all the words then. And, ever since, I’d, learned, that I needed to, wait and not hurry him.
When I missed him, I’d started, flipping through the diaries of growth I’d kept for him. He’d always worried me, being too shy, I recalled how when he was in kindergarten, he’d come home and told me, “the teacher said that whoever behaved well will get a rhino sticker, after school, I’d told my teacher, I’m NO rhino, I’m a velociraptor.” He could, recite the dinosaur encyclopedia front to back and upside down too, he’d finally, learned to put what he knew to use, and can bravely communicate with his teacher, it seemed, that I’d, worried in excess.
My son loved reading from when he was younger, and oftentimes, it’s already, midnight, and he still refused to go to sleep, and I’d, forced him to turn off the lights, and I’d thought, he must be lying down in bed then? I’d, opened up his door lightly, saw this small shadow, squatted, by the mosquito lights, focusing on “Solving the Mysteries of Dinosaurs”.
On his first-grade sports competitions, I’d gone to school to cheer him on. On the fun competitions, the little girl who teamed up with him, dragged him along, like she was an old ox and he was, a hard-to-budge cart, running fast, with my son, who was, taking his time, striding. As that girl came back, she’d started panting hard, and my son acted, like nothing’s happened yet, like an alien from outer space, inside his own little planet, chewing on the volumes of animal encyclopedias and books on history.
He’d silently, chewed on the books each and every day, not interacting, with his outside world, it’s not that it’s, anything bad, but, how can we not worry, about his, all too-quieted nature?
I’d had stomach troubles since I was a child, and every time my stomach ached, I can, only lie myself down onto the bed to rest, and one day, I’d found a note, with phonetic spellings mixed with the Chinese characters from my son, “Mom, I hope you’re happy and healthy all the time!”, with a velociraptor next to it. Turns out, my son is only too quiet, he’s not, dumb, and although, he’d not stated it with his words so much, but he’d, managed to, warm up my heart with his words.
On the year he turned ten, he’d not done well on his sectional exams, I was too worried, and, explained every problem he didn’t get right to him, and had him practiced doing the problems over and over again, until he’d finally, understood it, the very next day I got off work, I’d flipped open our diaries, I saw, “Mom, I won’t let you down, but, it may take me a little longer, like how the tortoise got to the finishing lines. One of these days, the tortoise will beat the hare.”
not my photo…
Maybe, it’s this, shared worry over one’s young as children, we’d often, focused on the grades, and not the efforts, and forgot, that it takes time, for the seeds to break through the ground. We’d often blamed our own young for being unthinking, but, we’d all, become, so forgetful ourselves too.
In his high school year, he’d majored in the electronics, other than his academic courses, he’d also needed to, do the application courses. I’d recalled how I’d waken up in the early morning hours, and he was still, in front of his desk, connecting the circuit boards. I guess, that maybe, he’s not, an outstanding young man, but, he surely is a hardworking AND responsible man. Someone who’s hardworking, is advancing, one step ahead, as everybody else was, relaxing.
He’d never missed a class period in his four years of university, he’d kept to his studies well, and earned some scholarship money too, and on the weekends, he’d gone out to play sports with his friends too. And because of certain factors, he could’ve chosen to serve a replacement military service terms, but instead, he’d, enlisted into the formal army, to train himself through the hardships.
socializing children is very important, not my photograph…
This kid who’d, lived for years on end on another planet had finally, arrived back on earth on his own spaceship. Maybe, there are, still, many shortcomings in his life, but, after these four months’ worth of military training, he’s surely, to enter into another stage of development of his own life I suppose!
So, maybe this kid IS autistic, but, he’d, worked hard, learning ALL that he can, and, he’d shone through, and is now, well on his way, more on track, in his own life, that just shows, that sometimes, all children need, is a little extra time, because those late comers will eventually, catch up to the rest of the crowd, and besides, life is more like a marathon, not a sprint!!!