The Best Present

It's really not for me to say which present was Scott's favorite when he opened gifts at our little family birthday party on Saturday, but I do know which one took the most time to prepare.  Neil worked for a month relearning to sing, "Happy Birthday to You" as a special surprise for his dad.  We kept it a secret as week after week his speech therapist drilled him on when to raise his voice to reach for high notes, and how to stair-step down the scale on the third line.  Because he needed to visualize the melody, she drew it out on paper so Neil could see each note in relation to the others.  The final product was sweet and sincere, if not completely on pitch, but believe me, it was music to all our ears!