B-B-B-Big Boy Bed!

Ben's current favorite video is an old VHS tape (another hand-me-down from my now college-age niece) from a series called "Geo Kids," put out by National Geographic in the early nineties.  Among its musical features are such natural history hits as "Kook Kook Kooky Kookaburra" and "Animal Doo-Wop".  The latter is great for phonological awareness, with lyrics like "P-panda, F-f-f-fish, T-t-turtle, L-l-l-lizard."  Ben loves this.  He has started adapting the technique for lyrics from other songs ("Sh-sh-sh-she w-w-woves you, y-y-yeah, y-y-y-yeah, y-y-yeah!" and "W-w-w-wocky M-m-m-mountain High, C-c-c-colorado").  And another thing:  He's been on a huge John Denver kick recently.  In fact, he insists (seriously, insists) that we call him John Denver.  This caused a little confusion at daycare the other day.   It all started shortly before Christmas when he became addicted to a CD of the John Denver Muppets Christmas special.  One youtube video led to another, and now he's singing "Rocky Mountain High" in the bathtub.  His tastes are eclectic, to say the least.

We finally made the transition to the Big Boy Bed last night (after Neil spent most of Friday assembling the blasted thing), and all went well.  After he got home, we told him there was a big surprise waiting in his bedroom.  He had pretty much figured it out by the time he was halfway up the stairs (we'd been showing him pictures of it and talking about it all week, while waiting for it to arrive), and he was one giant ear-to-ear grin when he saw it in person.

After some thought, he rearranged all of the trimmings in a configuration more to his liking.

Tonight's Bennyism

"Ooops -- I have two weak parents."

There was actually a context for this, but it's too complicated to explain.  I figure it stands alone.

Bimodal basketball player

My Aunt Kathy sent me this article about a deaf college basetball player who wears a hearing aid and CI.  Really interesting -- touches on the whole Deaf/oral debate, his experiences when first implanted at age 14, and the way he copes with stadium noise.  Enjoy!

Last night's Bennyism

Neil:  Philosophy is about everything.
Ben:  It's not about everything.  It's about some things.

There was another really funny one from this morning, but it's too anatomically explicit to post here.

Coming to grips with it all

As Ben's parents, we probably made peace with his deafness and all the equipment a lot sooner and more completely than anybody else -- friends, family.  As close, supportive, and involved as they have been, we're the ones who were there for the hearing tests and were told, "He's deaf.*"  We're the ones who researched the technology and the devices, sent him off to surgery, enjoyed the thrills and spills of activation and therapy and watching him reach all the milestones.  We're the ones who clean and store the equipment every night, and who maintain that constant vigilance -- did the headpiece come off?  Is something not working?  Is there too much static here?  And we're the ones who live with that sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, the specter of infection or device failure, and the need for more surgery.  Because we're immersed in that world, it long ago became our reality, our New Normal.  For everyone else, I think there's still just that tiny element of surprise and unease.

On the other hand, as his parents, we'll probably never make peace completely with it.  Every now and then, after months of New Normal, it'll suddenly hit me all over again like a lightning bolt:  I had a deaf child.  How did that happen?  My child has a very serious disability.  One of his five senses is dysfunctional, nonfunctional, and it's only with significant technological intervention that we can recover some measure of that sense.  It's okay; we're cool with it; he's doing really well.  But ... wow.  And then I realize that there was a little piece of it that I still hadn't come to grips with.  I guess it's something we'll just have to approach asymptotically.

*The clinicians don't say "deaf," of course.  They say "hearing impaired."  As in, "Your child has severe sloping to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss."  I just say "deaf."  I like it better.

Some more....

1.  While noodling away all over the piano keyboard:  "This is a John Lennon song, but I'm changing the words a little bit."
2.  "I want to go back to Cape Cod.  It's a good place.  It isn't not good.  It has good show quality."

We're still trying to figure out what he means by "show quality".  Neil quizzed him on it pretty closely, but it's still a mystery.  But we love the double negative.  This kid has no problem with abstraction and formal structure; he's gonna love studying grammar in school.  (I did.  No, seriously, I really did.  Diagramming sentences was my idea of a good time.)

Coupla Bennyisms

Three posts in one day?!?  It's either feast or famine here, folks.  Both of these are from today:
1.  While playing with a Jacob's ladder:  "Jacob left this here.  I don't know why he did that.  But he left it here for us to share."
2.  Ben:  "Curious George and a boy are riding in a balloon."  Neil:  "Are you the boy?"  Ben:  "No!  I'm real, and the boy is made up."  [Silly Daddy!]