Yesterday I was sitting with Isaac on squishy seats in the spacious YMCA lobby. Isaac enjoys sitting there, and through the glass wall separating the lobby area from the large pool, he loves watching people swim. On this particular day, he was working on a “paint-by-sticker” page on his clipboard in addition to people watching. Several individuals were relaxing around us on chairs and benches or working on their laptops at the circular tables arranged throughout the area. I kept my eye on Isaac from across the room and absentmindedly watched the typical hustle and bustle by the front desk as people came and went. Amidst the calm and steady quiet conversations around us, Isaac suddenly burst into a resounding rendition of “Bingo:” “B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-O!” His voice rang and echoed in the corridors and down the hall calling for complete attention even as he was completely oblivious to the repercussions of such an outburst. Cue my “ok, now what am I to do” mode. I considered my options and played out the potential outcome for each scenario in my mind in rapid succession. I know from repeated experience that asking Isaac to use a “quiet voice” often spurs even louder vocalizations and I certainly didn’t want to further disturb the people around us who were trying to work or relax. We could just leave…
As I played out the scenario where we stay, I imagined an annoyed someone coming up to me and asking us to leave…I formulated a conversation in my head— what they would say and how I might respond….as I envisioned this particular scenario playing out, a young man, around age 16, leaned over to Isaac from his chair nearby and said “Hey, man. How are you?” Surprised at this turn of events, and knowing Isaac was unable to verbally respond appropriately, I walked over to both of them and coached Isaac in a simple but sweet conversation between this incredibly kind and mature young boy and my amazing and non-conversational autistic son: “I am good, how are you?” Isaac repeated after me. The young man said that he was having a fine day. How tender that this young man was willing to put forth the extra effort to engage in a potentially socially awkward interaction with my boy. His kindness cut through any awkwardness and left a lasting impact on my heart. When they were done with their short conversation, this young man said good bye and left. I wanted to shout thank you to this exceptional young man. You make the world a better place.
We stayed. Isaac continued to work on his stickers and sing about the dog named BINGO for all to hear. When he finished his performance, he sat in silent contemplation. A few minutes passed. Then, from across the room a women came up to me and said: “ I just wanted to let you know that I love hearing your son sing. He has an amazing voice. I am an elementary school music teacher and it just warms my heart to hear him.” As she spoke I felt hot tears spring to my eyes. I thanked her for her kindness and agreed with her that he does indeed have a good voice. Her kindness and encouragement were lasting gifts to this mother’s heart.
The kindness of strangers overwhelmed me that night. I want to be more like them. May we all take a minute to talk to someone who is different than we are even if it is uncomfortable. May we encourage others. May we see the good and say something. May we love like Jesus.
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