Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The wave


Remember that quote: "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things?"

Well, here's one of my little things.

Last night we were at Variety Village, the sports club adapted for people with and without disabilities.

Ben was riding a bike around the track at a very leisurely, almost snail-like pace while my hubby (and I, very briefly) ran.

I was thrilled when I saw an old school friend of Ben's coming towards us on the inner lane, walking. We were going in opposite directions as lanes on the track are designated for different activities.

He's a young man with autism who uses sign language to communicate. He had head phones on and was snapping his fingers to the music.

We met him a couple of weeks ago, having not seen him for about four years.

Sometimes Ben doesn't respond to greetings, particularly if he's doing something like walking or riding that requires him to concentrate on his coordination.

As the young man came nearer, he waved to Ben, and gave him the thumbs up. I was a several feet behind Ben, and I saw him balance his left wrist on the handlebar and very intentionally wave back.

"Did you see that?" I said, turning and gesturing to my husband. We smiled and I jumped up and down, like we'd just experienced a tremendous bit of luck.

What's a little thing in your life (or perhaps in the eyes of other people) that in fact is a really big thing?

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