Newsflash: My son can walk!

Just in case you didn't read about it on Facebook, Twitter, the parenting message boards, earlier in the week on The Blog, missed the sky writing, or didn't hear the announcement on "The Today Show": at 5 years + 2 months-old, my son, Isaiah, has learned how to walk.

For parents of typical kids, I realize this milestone is also huge. After all, I have experienced it twice before. But very often it's taken for granted....sort of par for the course. It's the natural progression after scooting, crawling, pulling to a stand, and cruising. But to a mother of a child like Isaiah, the terms "late crawler" or "late walker" take on a whole new significance. A mother of a typical child who measures her child's delays by weeks or even a few months should spend some time with a mother who measures the same delays by years. It's all about perspective.

So bear with me and my pride as Isaiah is making his transition from non-ambulatory to ambulatory. He isn't walking quickly. He isn't walking steadily. He can't walk up or down stairs. And he is far from being a "safe walker". His primary mode of transportation is and will continue to be his chair for as far as I can see. And we'll still need to live in a handicap accessible home. But the key word in all of this is walking.

Slow and unsteady he goes, but as far as I am concerned, he's already won the race.

Just 8 days after wowing us with his maiden promenade...