Magic

A little drive off the beaten path, down a few winding roads and through a quaint little town rests a magical place. 

This weekend my youngest child and I visited the magical place.  My child has Asperger's and has a particular temperament.  He needs to be prepared for everything that is planned in our schedule and he has some sensitivity issues.  We talked about this trip a lot before it happened and he expressed marked excitement (a different kind of excitement from the usual excitement he expresses).  On this paricular trip, his excitement wasn't over what kind of toys he might get to play with or what amenities this magical place had to offer.  No, this time his excitement was over the people we were going to see. 

Six years ago, we had these lovely neighbors who lived right across the street.  A beautiful couple who we would wave to on occasion.  One day my husband comes home from work and tells me that he has discovered that the woman living across from us is pregnant just like me.  We are only a month or so apart.  I say "how lovely" or something to that effect and go back to my soap opera.  I was tired and miserable and while it was nice to know that my child may have a playmate, I just could not make the effort at this point to meet this woman.  Some time passes and one day, coming home from a doctors visit I see that this woman has had her child.  "How wonderful" I think as I struggle out of the car onto my crutches and fumble my way back to my bed where I am told to stay until my planned delivery date.  About 3 weeks or so after the birth of my boy, progress is made and the 2 moms are hanging out with the babies sharing stories over tea (in our pajamas).  A friendship is forged, we are kindred spirits and our sons are going to love each other.  Two and a half to 3 years later, my friend, her husband and their son move away. 

Fast forward to this past weekend.  Saturday morning my little guy and I load the car and head to his great friend's house.  We arrive just before lunch and the boys are instantly at play.  The 2 moms hug and settle in to begin a long over due conversation about how our lives are going.  We sit and talk for hours letting the guys run and play and have a merry time.  We take a short trip out to a small beach on the lake and let the kids splash around and show off their swimming skills, then pick up a pizza and head back to the house to tuck in for the night.  We allow the boys to stay up late playing Lego's and racing Hotwheels and we watch with such enjoyment over how these 2 guys can just pick up and reconnect. 

On Sunday, my friend's husband (who is also my friend), gets the crew up and moving.  We ride in the boat until the kids get too hot and then we take them to swim at the community pool.  It was a wonderful day filled with talking and togetherness.  We understand each other so well and they are so accepting of my child and his quirks.  The flow and fit of this friendship is just perfect and easy, laid back and fun.  We laugh and tease one another and I laugh at the banter between my 2 beautiful friends.  And we ALL watch the kids our amazing boys (who essentially brought us together). 

The magic of this place is not only the beautiful scenery, the small hills that roll in this quiet community, the deer that come right into the backyards , the lake that ripples and glistens in the sun, the screened-in porch with the sounds of the crickets and cicadas. That is all very nice and adds to the magic, but the real magic is in the people, the company, the ability to just pick up where we left off last time, the two little boys who adore one another. 

This fact must be known, my son does not hug just anyone.  There are members of my family who still only rarely get hugged by him.  He won't give hugs to my friends who have shown him such a wonderful time, but when it is time to leave this magical world, my son cannot give his friend enough hugs.  They hug as I pack, they hug as we walk to the door, they hug in the driveway, they hug as we get into the car.  My son gave his friend more hugs than I can count and I am beaming with joy watching the wonder of this unfold before my eyes.  It is as if he can't stop, he needs to let his friend know how much he loves him and this is his way of showing him.

As we pull out of the driveway after a very long and sad goodbye, my son says to me, "I don't know when I am going to see (my friend) again.  I miss him already and I will miss him so much, I love him."  I say "you know it is okay to cry if you are sad."  He says he doesn't need to cry, he is just sad.  This is the magic!  My Asperger's son has explained to me how much he adores another human being, a person who has been in his life since birth and will be in his life forever his "best friend". 

I sit there in the driver's seat thanking G-d for this blessing.  "Thank you G-d for bringing this beautiful family into our lives"  Life would not be the same without their magic.

Paula G