A Rose…A Friend

Sometimes when I pick Aaron up from his day group, while I wait for him to come to the car, I just sit and watch the various clients as they come and go.  There are times that tears fill my eyes.  Their needs are various, some more severely impacted by their conditions than others.  But each of them live challenging lives.  I am always humbled and amazed at their tenacity as they carry in their minds and bodies burdens that I have never faced.

This year, once again, our Dillon’s grocery store donated roses for Aaron to take to Paradigm on Valentine’s Day.   Jody, our sweet friend that we have come to know there, has made that happen for several years. 

Aaron is hesitant about all the hoopla of holidays.  He loves giving things to people but still he was nervous about taking the roses in to Paradigm. 

But oh my, it was a precious thing to see.  Barb and I had to remind Aaron to give a few to some of his less-favorite people, and their reactions warmed my heart. Just so you know, none of those persons is pictured here.

Just watching each client smile with delight was the highlight of my day. 

My flowers from Gary were a close second, but nothing beats just seeing the joy that a simple flower brings to these very special ones. 

I think more people would have a different outlook on life if they would go visit a special-needs day group…maybe take some things and bring some smiles and love to those who often need it the most.

I’ll leave you with these pictures.  Prepare to smile yourself.

        

“A single rose can be my garden… 

 A single friend…my world.”   (Leo Buscaglia)

Author: Patty hesaidwhatks

I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.

22 thoughts on “A Rose…A Friend”

  2. It is wonderful that Jody at Dillion’s donate the roses, you, Patty, drive Aaron to the store, to Paradigm, coach Aaron and it takes a team to make special love happen on Valentine’s Day. Let the love flow!!! ❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️

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  3. Tears of joy!!! Thank you for sharing, Patty!!!

    The Lord bless you and be gracious to you and give you peace. 🙏🏽

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  8. Beautiful Patty! I love the quote, “A single rose can be a garden.” That is so true. and I appreciate how you shared this precious experience as a reminder of what can be when we give the gift of love in a small but real way, even with our “less than favorite people.”

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  10. It is so nice that the flowers are still donated for Aaron to give away. Your words about watching the others going into work really hit home with me. When I was a provider, I had mentally disabled, cerebral palsy and autistic clients. When I first started working with my clients, I felt like you said about being amazed at their tenacity as they carry in their minds and bodies burdens that I have never faced. I was very open with my clients, which were adults. I remember the first time I asked one of my cerebral palsy clients, with her crippled body, if she was in pain, she said no. In all the years I was with her she was always happy and friends were very important to her. However, the only thing that affected her were people in the community that treated her poorly and thought she was a child, she was in her thirties. Two examples are going to a restaurant and the waitress asks me what she wanted to eat. I told her to ask my client and find out. This happened all the time because she didn’t talk clearly. Then there was the time I was pushing her in a wheelchair at a store and as we left the store they accused her of stealing. They asked her to stand up-omg-( I said NO!) so they asked to remove her coat to see if anything was in it. I wish I would have handled that better but I was so speechless and was so dumbfounded! My clients body was broken, not in pain but overall not inconvenienced by her disability at all. So my point of this long reply is that all of my clients or any others I had contact with, were all happy and have lived this way their entire life. I don’t feel any of them felt they were challenged and really appeared to love life, just the way they were. Have a wonderful week Patty!

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    1. Diane, your experiences and insights are just so touching. I agree that most if not all of Aaron’s friends are happy and content. I think their main challenges, for those like Aaron, are to adjust to the personalities or compulsions of others. You must have been such a caring provider. That’s exactly the kind of people they need in their lives. Bless you!!

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      1. Thank you Patty! It was the best job I ever had and I still keep in touch with my clients and their families. If the government didn’t make the paperwork so difficult for independent providers, I would still be working. Then they threaten if we did something off on the paperwork we would have to pay back our income for that day, makes me sick! The only one that loses is the clients and their family. Exactly the reason there isn’t more independent providers!

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