My dad has been improving in small ways since his stroke and all those small things combined have helped him to accomplish the BIG goals.  Today was a celebratory day for him and for all of us.  He went to the bank with my mom and brother and signed his name as RD and mom said it actually looked like the correct letters.  Previously he could only scribble or draw horizontal lines to represent his name.  Today was a big day for him!  When I got home from school he was SO excited to tell me about what he had done!  It was so cute!  Afterwards he asked if he could have some paper with big lines, like the kind I use with my first graders, and I said yes of course.  He said that he wanted to practice in hopes that he could write his whole name.