How Trains Saved My Son

I woke up Christmas Eve, rolled over, and because of what was next to my bed, began to cry. It was O's train table, and it had been in the exact same location since Thanksgiving. We had moved it into our room to accommodate our dinner guests.
I wasn't crying because it was in my room. I was crying because O hadn't asked about it or played with it in nearly a month. There was a time when this would've been unheard of, when the mere movement of one train would have caused a huge meltdown. While, this new development meant growth, maturity and progress, it also meant that my little boy didn't need his trains anymore. 
There was a time when they were his only source of enjoyment, his coping skills and his mode of communication. Now, they were simply collecting dust. I wasn't crying for today, I was crying for the days of the past, when things were so much harder. 
Since this blog is less than two years old, it wasn't around when O was born. So, unlike many other mommy's who blog, I do not have my children's birth stories here. However, today's story is of O's re-birth...and how trains were involved.
It was when his speech therapist brought out the starter train set, with Thomas and Percy, that O's love affair with trains began. He had watched episodes of Thomas and Friends on PBS, but had never been so interested in them, until he played with that train set. Then it was all about Thomas, who he first called "ba-ba" because that was all he could say.

We bought O his first train during our summer trip to Discovery Kingdom. We also visited Thomas Town there and rode on Thomas. Although O doesn't remember that trip. I do. He was so excited, to see all that was previously in his imagination come to life.
He took that first train everywhere with him. It seemed to make everything easier, as long as he had that train. 

The Christmas that he was two, Santa (aka my dad) made him a train table. And, every birthday, Christmas, and trip to Target after that, we added to the collection. The trains were his way of escaping after a hard day. They were the way we could get him to learn new sounds and words. They were everything to him.
And, while this was sometimes difficult. It was so nice to have that safety net. That thing that could always make him happy. Not everybody has that. He needed those trains...and so did we. 
Over time, O has begun to find interest in things other than trains and Thomas. He has begun playing with other toys, and the trains have been used less and less, especially since he started kindergarten. Although they have been replaced with other play things, it's more than that. They've been replaced with more topics of conversation, more typical ways of learning and ever-growing coping skills.
The train table and it's cast of characters are collecting dust. Still, I think O knows that they are there, in my room, just in case. 
I don't know when we will ever be able to pack up the trains for good. I'm sure that day will come. And, I will probably cry that day, too.