A few weeks ago my mom and my eldest son, who has severe autism, went on one of their favorite outings- a movie and lunch. My mom is an old pro at this by now, and Justin revels in the routine, the same movie theater, the same restaurant, hell, the same lunch. I know he enjoys these days, as does my mom, as he’s always well-behaved (except for the occasional grab at a customer’s lunch, but we’ve found people are remarkably nice about losing a fry or two). This last outing, in truth, was nothing special.
Except this time, it was.
I’ve been noticing on the news and on my Facebook feed that my fellow countrymen seems to be more prone these days to random acts of kindness. Just a short time ago my mom and son were the beneficiaries of one of these acts of generosity, as a couple a few tables down from them paid for their lunch and left before my mom was even made aware of it.
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A true act of generosity is when you don’t stick around for the accolades.
I asked my mom if she’d had a hard time with Justin that day, if perhaps his behavior had prompted the couple to feel sympathy for my mom, but that wasn’t the case. Justin was an angel as usual. I’m guessing our lovely benefactors simply saw a grandma and a disabled teen eating lunch together, and were moved to show their support. Perhaps they were impressed by my son’s behavior. Perhaps they have a family member on the spectrum.
Perhaps they just felt like doing something nice.
I understand the anonymity, but I wish I could thank them in person. The truth is if this had happened to me and Justin years and years ago I probably would have bawled my eyes out as I really needed some random acts of kindness back in the day. My mom said the waitress teared up as she told my mom what they had done, and mentioned she had a nephew on the spectrum.
It seems everyone has a connection to autism these days.
I love that someone did this for my mom and Justin. The truth is, I don’t even need to know why. It’s just another sign to me that there is not only increased awareness of autism, but also an increased acceptance of autism. It just seems to me it’s another sign that my boy is okay exactly the way he is.
And to that couple out there who made my mom’s day, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com
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