Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

I had an unexpected opportunity to have a deep conversation with a 6 year old a few weeks ago.  She came in while I was feeding Evie lunch in a quiet room away from a party.  The chatty girl first asked what Evie was watching, and then did a double take when Evie babbled something in response to the snow she was watching. “Why doesn’t she talk,” she asked. I braced myself and answered that her mouth muscles are not very strong, and she is still learning how to move them to talk.   “Oh. I’m sad that Evie can’t talk.”  My mama heart felt grateful that she felt the same emotions as I do for Evie each day.  I thanked her for wanting good things for Evie, and assured her (and myself) that one day Evie will speak only a way that others can understand.  I asked Evie something where she answered in the affirmative with sign language.  I then told the girl that this is what Evie signed in order to say “yes.”  Our new little friend was ecstatic ...

I used to think that the best way to spend $10 was to buy cider donuts fresh from the farm. But today, something else gave cider donuts a run for the money. Evie's NOVA Chat, or augmentative communication device, decided to go kaput today. The sound worked, but the screen was dead.  I called Technical Support, but it was confirmed that the device would have to be sent to Texas to be repaired.  Insert crying emoji. I didn't realize how big of a deal this was until Evie sat at the dinner table and started looking around for her NOVA Chat.  She wanted to tell me something, and couldn't. I tried to guess. This amounted to further frustration, which culminated in lots of yelling from Evie.  I told her to use her inside voice, but I was just as frustrated as she was when I couldn't understand what she needed.  Dinner took a very long time. She didn't even want a hug. I went on the Saltillo website and printed the "low tech"version, which are PDF's of c...