There were also two men with about a dozen boxes marked "birds" slapping express delivery stickers on the bird boxes. I joked with the little boy, "those must be the turkeys that didn't get eaten for thanksgiving". He laughed! Then I told him, "You must be a silly boy, are you?" He nodded. "I am a silly woman!" He nodded.
As we exited the post office, I talked to the black lady. She said, "He is autistic." I was shocked. As I told her, we had an autistic class at the school where I was principal and he was very high functioning compared to them.
She is his foster mother. She said, no one is sure of his age because the birth certificate the mother gave them said he is three. The doctors and dentists say he is more like five or six. The mother didn't want him for Thanksgiving. She is bipolar and has two other kids who are ADHD.
The foster mother assured me he wasn't always this calm. I congratulated her on taking him and tried to encourage her there would be a crown in heaven for her. "I've been in this since 1998," she replied.
I saw his behavior change for myself a little while later at Walmart. I heard this "keening" kind of noise and I knew.....it was him. They were in the check out line and he was screeching. The man next to me in the deli line said to me, "my mother would have whipped me if I carried on like that."
"He's autistic," I told him.
I can't get this little fellow out of my mind.
Last night, hubs and I watched The Dog, Christmas. The main character is a retarded boy of 20. He gets lots of love and support from his parents, older siblings, and towns people.
I wish this little fellow had that.
Please pray for him, and his foster mother.
PS The birds being mailed were "fighting chickens" (I asked the men). Of course, that is illegal in SC but evidently it is fine to mail them. Who knew!
2 comments:
Praying blessings for this little boy and blessings for his special foster mother. She has chosen him even when his real mother does not want him. She will indeed have a crown in heaven.
Wow, there is such poverty of spirit everywhere if you see it, but thankfully there is just as much charity, too.
Fighting chickens, I can not believe you did not make a citizens arrest! Seriously!
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