First Steps

"EJ took his first unaided steps today." Dad informed Mom upon her arrival home. "He took three steps."

Mom replied, "I've seen that before."

Dad bristled. The momentousness of the milestone was lost on Mom. Moreover, Dad lacked a compelling narrative to convince her of how these steps were different. He let it pass.

Minutes later Mom squealed at Dad, "He walked from the fence to couch all by himself!"

Mom had seen it for herself and Dad was happy that she understood what these first steps were and how they differed from previous drunken-sailor* attempts.

Before, his unaided steps were a controlled fall terminating in his coming to rest on the ground. The steps themselves were merely a postponement of the inevitable, a brief run forward to get his hips underneath his forward falling head to reestablish center mass over his legs, but mostly ending in failure and EJ again on the ground. On a few occasions, the brevity of the trip from handhold to handhold, three steps, was enough for him to catch himself from falling. However, this is not truly walking. Authentic locomotion involves his ability to walk unaided for distances and times he determines, not gravity.

Mom had seen that before and presumed that that is what Dad had seen.

This was different. Although EJ only took three steps under Dad's watch, when he came to the end of his journey, he remained standing - unaided. That is walking. That was the critical detail Dad did not relate to Mom when she arrived home.

When EJ demonstrated it for her, there were four and a fraction steps involved. Further, although his end place offered him a hand hold, Mom observed that his gate was sufficient to maintain his uprightness regardless of the handhold. His head was not falling in a gentle arc toward the ground faster than his legs could keep up.

Later Mom predicted he'll be running around the house by the end of summer.

*Thanks to Laurie for the allusion .