Living Again by Brynn Stein

Author:Brynn Stein [Stein, Brynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

ONCE AT the park, Daniel forgot all about his somewhat somber mood. It was simply impossible to be solemn around Ethan.

“Come on. Come on!” he urged as he ran ahead.

Jonah pointed out that he was keeping Daniel company and that this was as fast as Daniel could go with his crutches. It took several minutes to explain why Daniel wasn’t as fast with his newly acquired crutches as Ethan was with his forearm crutches. Ethan finally shook his head and ran ahead to the playground, this time just staying there to play, firm in the knowledge that his “slowpoke“ adults would be watching him.

Daniel couldn’t help gasping a little when Ethan threw down his canes and started climbing the jungle gym.

Jonah giggled. “Don’t worry. He does that all the time. Remember he said on the way home the first day you went with us that he wanted to climb and Eddie didn’t.”

“Well, yeah,” Daniel said incredulously, “but I thought he meant the little preschool version of a jungle gym, not that.” He gestured with a crutch to the dome-shaped structure that was probably a good eight feet tall or more at the middle. Ethan was crawling around it like he was made to be there. The fact that he had two prostheses didn’t seem to matter in the least.

“He’s always had the two prostheses, Daniel. He doesn’t know that it’s supposed to be harder for him to maneuver on those things.”

Daniel stopped momentarily so he could look Jonah in the eye. “You know, you’ve done a remarkable job with him. I imagine it would be very easy for some parents to smother him and make him dependent because of his disability or push too hard and make him feel inadequate because he can’t live up to impossible standards. But you’ve hit the perfect balance. He’s fiercely independent and knows you’re proud of him just the way he is—so much so that he doesn’t even seem to think there is any reason anyone wouldn’t be proud of him. All the apparatuses he needs are truly like clothes or shoes to him.”

Jonah was clearly not sure what to say to all of that, so he simply answered, “He’s a remarkable kid.”

Daniel was thinking not only that, but that Jonah was a remarkable dad—and a remarkable person.

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