I truly believe that W could change the world if he wanted
to. He has this amazing positive effect
on people. To know W is to love W. I was reminded of this several times this
weekend…
I took Friday off so W and I could spend the day
together. I had chosen Friday awhile ago
and it worked out perfectly. The weather
was the warmest it’s been all year (as I type, we currently have snow on the
ground). I decided we would go on our
first zoo trip of the year. We had a
blast. The monkeys and the meerkats were
W’s favorite and he actually started to cry as we left the meerkats and headed
toward another exhibit.
I had this perfect plan – we’d go to the zoo, W would sleep
during the nearly 1 hour ride home, and then we’d visit A’s class. Well, W had other plans and did not sleep at
all. I debated whether or not we should
still visit A at school. I ultimately
decided to go. If W fell asleep on the
way there, we’d visit another time and if W got too cranky, we’d just head
home.
We arrived and W was awesome. My typically shy around people he doesn’t know boy walked around the classroom,
played ball with the students, and pointed out the clock. Several students in other classrooms wanted
to meet W and we made the rounds. The
students LOVED him. But my favorite part
was the interaction with the autistic students.
Now, I don’t know very much about autism. What I do know is that many autistic students
thrive on consistency and W being there could have easily set them off. We met one student who came up to W and
played peek-a-boo with him. W proceeded
to laugh and smile at the boy. They both
seemed to enjoy each other’s company.
Another boy we met in the hallway.
A explained that W was his son and the boy repeated “my son”. After that, whenever we saw the boy, he would
say “my son”. It was really cute and
heartwarming. There was another girl who
apparently had little confidence and broke down from time to time. But she had no problem playing with W,
talking to him, and offering toys. She
even told me she was great with kids – no lack of confidence whatsoever. She was very sweet with W.
Here’s the thing I picked up on (and again – admittedly, I’m
one of those moms who thinks her kid
is the best)… W could have been incredibly cranky. We were at the zoo for 2 hours and in the car
for another 2 hours. With NO nap. But W was perfect. He brought joy to so many of those kids. He brings so much happiness to nearly
everyone he meets. And another thing – I
think he was perfect for the kids. A
explained to me that some lacked self-esteem and doubted themselves. Not around W.
They had no problem at all interacting with him. There’s something special about a toddler – they view the world
with innocent eyes. They do not
judge. They do not criticize. They laugh at a simple game of
peek-a-boo. They do not have high expectations
or prejudice. And I think W made some of
those students’ days.
I was reminded of this 2 days later, but with the other end
of the spectrum…. We’ve been attending church as a family since W was 10 days
old. We love seeing our church friends
every week. Lately, A or I spends most
of church in the lobby with W. He gets
tired of sitting and wants to explore.
Well, this Sunday, we were getting ready to leave after a long Palm
Sunday mass when I turned around and saw W in the arms of an elderly man. He was talking to W and W was content. Typically, W would be crying, reaching for A
or me. But he was fine being held by the
older man and the older man had the biggest smile. So darn cute.
And another example of W bringing happiness…. To young and old and
everyone in between. I love my boy so
much.
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