This morning Ella and I went grocery shopping. We go out regularly and I have noticed that she has been getting more and more comfortable in public, but today really topped the cake. We had at least half a dozen people stop us to talk about how cute Ella is, ask how old she is, etc. All of these encounters happened when I was pushing the cart, so Ella was facing me and could see my reaction to the people.

At one point while I was scooping granola out of a bulk bin, I was at the end of the cart so Ella was facing away from me. It was then that a woman came up to me and told me that Ella had just made her day by smiling at her. Ella had looked at this woman, responded to her friendliness and smiled at her with no prompting from mom.

She has made such amazing strides in the six and a half months that we’ve been home. I clearly remember our first trip to Target, when she was like a deer in the headlights and just didn’t know how to process the lights, sounds, people and environment of a huge store like that. I could hardly hold her because she would only lean back to stare at the ceiling. Now, in a crowded supermarket she’s comfortable enough to return a smile. I have to assume that she knew I was close by and she felt safe enough to do this.

Most people get a shy head tilt from her, and sometimes a smile or wave when they turn away, but this was a genuine gesture that she was comfortable enough to share. It made me realize just how important it is to keep talking with people when we’re out and about. She’s learning how to interact and I’m so proud of her.




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