Yes, He's Special

"I watch daily as my youngest son approaches the world with a happy disposition and a smile on his face. And in amazement I see that almost always, the world responds with a smile right back at him. It seems most people do not mind the extra time, effort, patience it takes to interact with him. They are captivated by his pure enjoyment of life. It is so true that when you smile at the world, the world smiles back. I witness it every day"

I posted that on my facebook page the other day. It is so true. I do witness it every day. Every. Single. Day. 

Today as I dropped him off at day camp, the intake counselor sees us coming and yells "Hi Bambam! I'm so glad you are here today." But she's not the only one. All the other counselors say hi and/or give him a high five. Even the ones that aren't part of his group. They all know him by name.

We run errands on our way home. At the bank, all the tellers talk to him. Engaging in whatever he wants to talk about. Each one offers him a sticker. He says thank you to each of them, grinning from ear to ear.

We stop by his educational aide's house. She contacted me to see if we could come visit. She misses Bambam during the summer, hasn't seen him since the last day of school. They hug, talk non-stop, she hugs him several more times as we are leaving. 

We go to the pool to cool down. Walking through the athletic club, all the employees greet him by name, give him high fives. In the pool as he plays with another little boy (which is huge and a topic for another post) I visit with the other mom. She watches Bambam and says "His smile, its infectious. How can you ever get mad and discipline that boy? He is the sweetest thing."

At the grocery store he engages with the lady in front of us. She is patient, smiles, listens intently to what he is babbling about. I'm not sure she even understood him, but it does not seem to matter. She looks over his head at me and grins. Not the "I pity you" or the "I offer understanding" grin, but a true "I'm enjoying this, he makes me smile" grin. You know the difference. 

Is it because he's special? I'd like to think so. But not because of his special needs. I'd like to think it's because of his personality. Because of his love of life. He touches people. To their core. They respond to him viscerally. I believe he brings them joy, makes this world a better place. And it seems, so do others. The special ed coordinator at his school left this comment on my facebook post: "He is a very special boy. Brings joy to my heart." Mine too Mr. D., mine too.