What surfers healing is like from this mothers perspective. We approached the parking lot with the surfers healing sign, a man jumped out of his seat like the queen had just turned the corner, a bright neon shirt, waving us in. Instead of just pointing to a spot to park he smiled and said follow me ! He ran to a spot, guided us in, gave us a warm welcome and said wait, I ll get you a ride. A solar powered golf cart pulled up and we got on. We rode down the street, I felt like a princess in her carriage! He stopped at a beach access where we were greeted by more kind folks who seemed to be waiting just for us. We were told to walk down the brick path which felt more like a red carpet just for us! We gave them our name, she checked the list and for today WE were the guests of honor! We were given a free teeshirt, a goodie bag, shown were breakfast was and escorted to another runway where my son was to be fitted for his life vest. I have walked down this autism road for 14 years now and believe me when we come , we are not the guests of honor lol , more like the guests who they wish didnt come. You see autism does not always show up in sweet looking little kids with smiles on their faces, or sometimes it does then they start to grow up. In my family it looks like a 5 foot 9 inch tall 14 year old pubescent, acne faced, sometimes angry, usually negative kid that you cant make happy or please, whos defense mechanism is saying things that are inappropriate and letting everyone around him know he is not happy. Once fitted, my son was escorted to the water where he was met by whom Im going to refer to as Jesus. He looked like Jesus, was as kind as Jesus, and had the ability to stand on water! Out they went! Now Im thinking after about 10 minutes this guy will have his fill and will be ready to trade this one in for a smaller, cuter, nicer, kid. They finally catch a ride in and as I get ready to offer relief back out they go! Now I didnt time it, but I think Jesus kept this boy of mine out there for a good 45 minutes! Im sure sweet Jesus got an ear full lol. When he came back in I really wanted a picture, you see I have a camera with a nice zoom lens but in order to avoid a fight from a kid who doesnt want his picture taken in left it at home. I had my phone and a very patient Jesus waited till my son cooperated so I could get what I thought would be my only picture. We spent the next two hours as a family, eating lunch, talking with others and most of all being NORMAL. We were the welcomed guests and we felt it! We fit in! We were welcomed! We were not judged, not stared at, not talked about, not looked down on, not given advice ( you get the idea) it was WONDERFUL. I could have stayed all day! Next year I hope to save up for a hotel room right there so family members can retreat if they need to and I can continue to cheer every kid on, and enjoy for a day being a normal family. When we left, we walked back the way we came, and at the end of my imaginary red carpet was more well wishers, THANKING US for coming! We boarded our carriage, and it dropped us off right next to our car door. The smiling man in the neon shirt was still there, still with a big smile, offered to let us wash our feet before we left! He waved goodby like a long time friend we would see again. As I road home I wished there was some way I could tell Izzy Paskowitz how much this day meant to not only these kids, but this mom. This was a greater gift for us than all these charitys raising money for research which will never help us. I wanted to hold on to the feeling a bit longer. I wished I could have gotten some great shots for the scrapbook that looked better then the dark specks in the water. That night on my FB feed these wonderful photographers HAD Captured the moment! You may not see a big smile on my sons face, and you may not hear appreciation come from his lips but I can see the sparkle in his eye, and I , if only for the day, felt truly excepted ALL of us as a family! From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU to everyone! And especially Jesus! Both the one in heaven and the one who had the heart of Jesus on that Surf board.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:44:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015