BY JENNIFER MADRIGAL

January marks the beginning of a new year and a new month, a chance to start over anew. In our home, January is a month full of birthdays with the most important one belonging to the youngest boy, Nicholas. This year, my son Nicholas will reach another milestone; he will finally belong to the “two-hands” club and turn 10! I remember my grandpa joking with me when I turned ten and telling me that I was part of an exclusive club of “two handers” and that this was the first and last year that I would ever be able to count my age on just two hands. Back then, that seemed like a pretty awesome club to be a part of and it’s a little surreal that my youngest child is now ten and on his way to his next decade.
But turning 10 for Nicholas is just a little bit more special to me because the road we have traveled has been such a tumultuous one. If you read this column regularly you know I speak about my boys often and that my youngest Nicholas, is deaf and autistic, visually impaired, low tone Cerebral Palsy, etc. etc. but that this boy has the spirit of an angel and the tenacity of a lion. There is truly nothing that I would say he can’t do. He may not be able to do it now, but he always manages to figure things out and surprise us all with just how dang smart he is.
This first decade of his life, we spent so much time getting him to sit up, crawl, walk, eat on his own, wear his glasses, wear his hearing aides, cochlear implant surgery, physical and occupational therapy, potty training, writing and so on and so on. We just wanted to give him the best shot we could to be as “normal” as possible. What I never expected was that not only would he far surpass all those basic goals but that he would also learn to read, write, add and subtract and basically rock at school. Further, this year I experienced with Nicholas the absolute best gift any mother could receive, Nicholas said “mom” for the very first time. That small little “deaf” voice clearly and slowly watching my lips form the word and along with me, clear as day, say “MOM”. As always, my son remains my biggest inspiration and deepest source of strength. Anytime I feel that I can’t do something, I remember all the doctors that shook their heads and told me to give up and to not expect much from Nicholas, and then I get back up, shake myself off and get back to being awesome…because Nicholas and I still have a lot of people to keep proving wrong.