zander
“As soon as he could hold his head up
without help he started to use those icy
blues to humorous effect. I can honestly
say that I’ve never seen an infant stare a
grown man down until I met Zander.”
Stories of Hope
My heart broke the moment Zander was handed into my arms and I saw his face
for the first time. Our doctor hastily assured us it was just a bruise that would fade
quickly, but I knew immediately that he was only trying to soften the blow by denying the
obvious.
I wish we had known then what we know now. I wish we had known that we had just
met the most relentless, indomitable little person that we would ever encounter, and I
wish we had known just how much mischief we were in for. At least if we had, we might
not have worried ourselves into sleeplessness for so many nights.
It wasn’t until several days after we brought him home that I realized just how
beautiful he was, from his adorable cleft chin to his perfect lips, and those eyes!
Admittedly, we were terrified to take him into public at first. The stares, gasps and
whispered comments as we walked by were hard to take. We felt an overpowering urge
to protect him from it all, but over time we began to realize we didn’t need to. As soon
as he could hold his head up without help he started to use those icy blues to humorous
effect. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen an infant stare a grown man down until I
met Zander. He was a serious little guy in the beginning, with hardly a smile and such a
great deadpan stare that eventually people started keeping a more respectful distance.
If they stared at him, he stared back fearlessly. It got to the point that our friends would
joke about him being an adorable bully.
Now it’s been two years and he’s lightened up considerably. It’s all we can do to
make it through the day without him pulling a prank or two at our expense, and there is
nothing he enjoys more thoroughly than harassing his older brother, Adrian, who takes
it good naturedly and occasionally returns the favor. It’s not uncommon for him to flash
you with a thousand watt smile and run away, in the hopes that you’ll give chase and if
he’s lucky, tickle him.
The word “can’t” doesn’t even exist in Zander’s world. If there is an obstacle in his
way -or heaven help them, a person- he will get around it at all costs. If we had to pick
a favorite quirk about him though, it might be his mind. We never dreamed he would be
counting by twos, fives and tens, and already reading his name at the ripe old age
of two.
In short, Zander is a tiny conqueror. He has only grown more beautiful with each
year, and I can’t help but wonder if maybe his PWS was simply N