Love

I went in for my highlights today (part 2 of my Groupon). I told her to cut more.. shorter, shorter!! We talked a lot. I set up an appointment for Judah with her. He really needs a haircut. We tried over the weekend at the salon near us, but it was a huge fail. He didn't even make it to the chair! The stylist I saw today (that he'll see next week) grew up with an autistic brother. I could tell by her stories that she would understand Judah easier than most. She even offered her mom up as a resource for information on what Judah is eligible for at school when she learned that he does not have a one-on-one. Apparently her brother chose to walk home from school one day when he was in the 3rd grade. He was completely by himself. That's when her mom demanded the one-on-one. She wasn't going to let that one go any longer. And the help that he got from that person changed his life dramatically. The stylist thinks he would have been completely different today had he not had that one-on-one. He still has a one-on-one to this day. Anyway, her mom has fought the fight. Her son is 18 now, and in high school. They didn't shelter him or keep him from events & activities in life. He did what they did. The stylist said that one year her brother wanted to go to Red Robin for his birthday. The entire family went. When they arrived, they were told there would be a 25 minute wait. Her brother wanted to stay, so they stayed. 30 minutes goes by, 45 minutes goes by.. she asks her brother if he wants to go somewhere else. He says "No." and continues sitting, waiting patiently. Apparently he usually hates waiting, so this was very odd. An hour and a half goes by and they are finally seated. The entire family sat for an hour and a half so this boy could eat at Red Robin for his birthday. No one complained. Another half hour goes by & they have food. No one complained, because after all, it was his birthday.  Such a sweet story.

I tipped her twice what I should have I'm sure. And I still didn't feel like that was enough!

And do you know why she told me that story? Because she was explaining that sometimes he would just do things that weren't like him. He typically was not a very patient person, but he was incredibly patient that day. Of course what I found amazing was that the entire family was that patient! And that they were all there for him 100%. But to her, that was just what should happen.. and it did, which is pretty incredible. That's love.