A Random Act of Kindness On Easter

Tommy and I experienced a random act of kindness on Easter. It was at the famous Callenwolde Egg Hunt...a beautiful old mansion in Atlanta where hundreds of kids come to meet the Easter Bunny, have their faces painted, and of course, score massive amounts of Easter eggs. Some parents of kids with autism get so tired of the panic and anxiety that their kids display in new settings that they just give up on doing new things...it's exhausting and for some, embarrassing. But the way I see it, I'm an adventurer and somewhere in his heart, despite the anxiety and the autism, he is too! So we choose the path of desensitization and experience rather than the path of doing what's easiest for him....which is spinning stuff at home. We'd practiced enough that he knows Easter Eggs have "skittles" in them...and that Easter Egg Hunts are A GOOD THING. We parked on Virginia Avenue and walked to Callenwolde....the traffic jarred him, but he hugged me and said, "I want EGG!" We powered on. When we arrived, we had to wait in a long line to go to the bathroom. It was in a dark corner...he doesn't like buildings without windows...so he threw himself on the floor and screamed, and I waited calmly while holding him in place. In the bathroom, he threw a fit, bit his wrists and said, "Seatbelt on!" (which means-Take me to the car)....I found beautiful, empty rooms and we explored the building. We went outside to the small fountain, which he then tried to jump in and I restrained him and we quickly moved on to the "bunny room"... In the Bunny Room, there were about 10 rabbits in cages hopping around looking cheerful...Tommy did well petting one bunny, but then just needed to get out of that building. I hesitated too long and he completely freaked out, fell to the floor, and kicked a bunny cage, knocking its food and water out, and getting the attention of everyone in the Bunny Room. I quietly dragged him out, and he sifted the gravel he found outside (sifting things is the BEST!) We needed the bathroom and found, with our Irish luck, an old, antique beautiful one in the upstairs of the mansion. Miraculously, it had an amazing view of the front grounds, an aerial view of thousands of Easter Eggs and hundreds of 2-3 year-olds waiting to get them....we heard the whistle and watched the action. I saw a light-bulb go off. THIS is an Easter Egg Hunt...this aerial view of it, such a gift. We headed for the "6-year-old" area....ready, set, go!! Tommy set off and got one egg..."No parents allowed on the grounds" the speaker blared...Tommy then freaked out and threw himself down because he couldn't get the egg open...I called out, "Get more eggs, Sweetie!"...he ran to me and had me open the egg and the candy...but he didn't like the candy, threw himself down about that...I felt myself starting to decompensate a bit.."Dangit, Chill Out!" I said, to the glares of several nearby parents who no doubt thought me a hag. He went on, though, and did see what was going on around him, and was excited by it, ya know? Understanding it more. So at the end, we walked away with our one egg. He was slightly jarred from all the noise and excitement, but glad in a way. We walked toward the shade of the 7 60-year-old magnolia trees with kids climbing in the branches. And this little family saw him with his one egg...and they saw that he has some challenges that other folks don't....and without a word, they had their 2 beautiful daughters hide about 10 eggs in and around those Magnolias...and those little girls had a terrible time trying to get Tommy's attention, but THEY DID IT! And with their help, in his own time, in a different area, he found 10 more eggs. And I watched with a tear in my eye and thought.....THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! And Lord, thank you too. How wonderful, this precious, perceptive, dear little family at an Easter Egg Hunt. Tommy left his "second" egg hunt with confidence and at least a couple of pieces of candy that he actually liked. And I left the second Easter Egg Hunt thinking that no matter how crazy this world is that we live in, no matter our differences, we must still be good to each other...by practicing random acts of kindness.