I love this picture I found on FB this morning.
Aaron certainly has opened our eyes to a whole unique and special way of viewing his world…..which becomes our world as Aaron pulls us in, willing or not. It doesn’t matter to Aaron if I am busy or tired or embarrassed or if I’ve heard or seen the same thing a zillion times. To him, each experience seems refreshingly new and fun and definitely shared.
Like yesterday at the grocery store. I decided to run back to the produce section after I saw the pretty cantaloupes in a fellow shopper’s cart. Aaron loves everything about the grocery store, except maybe for the aisle with toothpaste and body wash. If you lived with him awhile, you would see that those items are not a priority or an interest of his. Unfortunately.
Anyway, I was examining big round cantaloupes while Aaron was pointing out the cool, spritzing water that was spraying over the vegetables nearby. You would think that this was the first time he had ever seen this gentle spray, but it isn’t. It’s probably the 753rd time I’ve told him what it is, but he was as excited as if he was seeing it for the first time.
I turned and headed for the registers after deciding against any cantaloupes. I knew that Aaron was lagging behind. I was already in the florist section when I turned to look for Aaron. There he stood, large and loud Aaron, holding up an artichoke. His face was just a huge smile as he held his prize up for me to see. I had to smile, too, standing there among the sunflowers and daisies. What is it about artichokes that always, always grabs Aaron’s attention? We have examined them, cooked them, and researched them…..but still Aaron will find those artichokes and hold one up for me to see as if it’s the very first artichoke that we have EVER encountered.
I smiled and then shook my head no as several surrounding people were turning their heads to see who Aaron was showing his artichoke to. I could see them making the connection……wondering, I’m sure, about Aaron.
Maybe if we all saw our world through Aaron eyes, we would smile more and laugh louder and keep our curiosity sharper, even as we age.
So let me share with you a few snapshots of Aaron in his world.
Making a funny face while we played Skip-Bo, trying hard not to laugh:
Putting a clothes pin on his earlobe, which is totally nothing new…..but you wouldn’t know that if you looked at how intense and serious he was on this night.
Playing Skip-Bo, knowing that Mom is looking out with eagle eyes for his cheating attempts.
Waiting for me to go through the Wal-Mart line, and smiling like this when I looked up and saw WHERE he decided to wait……the chair at the bank desk.
Noticing after he got his teeth cleaned that the digital clock on the counter was flashing. “Your clock is destroyed!” he exclaimed as he pushed by his hygienist and tried to fix the clock. Incorrect time is intolerable!
Recovering from three strong night seizures. We had to cancel his therapy appointment, which to Aaron meant cancelling our lunch plans. I was nervous about taking him into a restaurant, fearing another seizure, so instead we went through the drive-through window at Little Caesar’s and got him pizza AND breadsticks. He was happy. I was happy.
And finally, sunflowers. Aaron has wanted sunflowers for such a long time, so this summer while I was in Houston to see Andrea, he and Gary planted sunflowers around our garden. He has watched them grow and grow and grow, until now they are much taller than he is. Now he can’t wait for them to bloom. He was looking at the sunflowers one day when they were much smaller. “When are they supposed to be the size they’re supposed to be?” he asked.
I smile at the way he phrases things. His unique way of expressing himself is a big reason I started this blog. I can remember wondering, when Aaron was much younger, how he would turn out. In a sense, I wondered when Aaron was supposed to be the Aaron he’s supposed to be – to borrow Aaron’s wording.
Well, Gary and I pretty well know that Aaron is now the Aaron he is supposed to be. Some days that can be discouraging, I’ll admit……on the seizure days or on the hard behavior days or on the days when we are tired and really don’t want to see another artichoke. Yet Aaron is who he is supposed to be because he is who God created him to be.
But God gives grace when we need it the most. He really does. I don’t think I even realize sometimes in just what forms His grace comes to me. Yet I do know, often in retrospect, that making it through the frustrations……the fears……the failures…..is the hand and the grace of God upon us.
And I am so thankful that God gives me pause more times that I can count……moments to pause and enjoy Aaron’s world through Aaron’s eyes.
So you see that the sunflower in the above picture is just too perfect. Aaron is waiting for his sunflowers to be the size they’re supposed to be and to bloom. Gary and I see that Aaron is who he is supposed to be, and that every day he blooms in our lives, teaching us to see the world through different eyes.
I pretty well know, too, what Aaron would say if he looked at this sunflower picture. “What?!” he would probably say. “That sunflower is wearing shades!!”
Better to see you with, Aaron. Better to see you with.
He Said What?! 