Because They Cared

It seems like everyone has that one person in life who changes the course of their life's path. Early in my son's life, he met two such people at the same time. When my son entered second grade he didn't have any friends. He didn't really care though. He was a loner by choice. He had just been diagnosed with Aspeger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of Autism. His social skills were really low. His first grade experience had been horrible. His teacher didn't like him and by default the kids saw him as a nuisance. In second grade though he ended up with a teacher who just adored him! Her attitude trickled down to the rest of the class. In that class was a beautiful, popular little girl. We'll call her Sunny. Sunny noticed my son didn't have any friends and it bothered her. She went home to her mom one day and said, "Mom, he doesn't have anyone so I'm going to be his friend." And so she did. She invited him to birthday parties, ate lunch with him, played with him at recess and was just kind to him. My son still wasn't very social but he did know Sunny was his friend. Because of his teacher and Sunny's treatment of him, the whole class ended up liking him. He became a mascot of sorts and they all took him under their wing. It lasted all the way through elementary school and even into Jr High. As a mother I can not even begin to tell you how much the kindness of those two meant.