Words

With profound concentration they grip the pen to tackle this monumental task. The letters, the spacing, the grip on the pen, the orientation of the page, the size--there is much to consider. A name.

I am Abigail. Or Abby. She likes both, but tends to like writing Abigail because it has more letters. Girl likes a challenge.

Amelia struggles with the letters, thinks on them hard. She knows them, somewhere back in her brain, hiding perhaps under more recent memories of stories read or play-doh masterpieces formed or imaginary games of princesses and dragons. Every time I think she may have forgotten she proves to me she has not; she's just taking her time. Each A, M, E, L, I, A is well-thought, deliberately displayed right. . . here. Just so.

I have started reading lessons with my kids. Each day I sit with each child and we review sounds and look at words on a page: see, me, am, ram, mat. I am impressed, impressed with all of them. Gabriel has a facility with it that pleases me. Writing is not his favorite, but his mind recognizes those letters and sounds and he is claiming them as his own. I know these sounds, I know these words. They are mine now, to take with me wherever I go. I am Gabriel.

To think these brilliant young minds are seeing, learning, recognizing, reading for the first time. Like little miracles for 15 minutes at a time each day.