Yesterday I went and sat in on his Music class, as we parents were invited to do. There I saw E., Reagan's best friend at school, a little boy with Tourettes Syndrome. This little boy has some noticeable tics, both physical and verbal. I found myself wondering if the other children were nice to him.
Later in the afternoon Reagan and I went shopping for a Halloween costume, and we started talking about E., and asked how he was treated at school. Reagan explained that the kids weren't openly hostile or mean, but that they tended to ignore him and avoid him if possible. But he doesn't. He told me he wanted to help E.
I explained that there's really nothing that he can do to help, except be a true friend. But Reagan told me that's exactly what he wants to be. E. feels that no one has ever truly been his friend, and Reagan wants to be someone he can rely on. I made it clear that E. needed a friend and not his pity. It's easy to resent someone who's just nice because they feel sorry for you. But Reagan assured me that E. is a nice boy, a good friend, and that they enjoy each others company. It made Reagan happy to make E. happy, and to spend time with him.
I was filled with such warmth in my heart. He may not always finish the tasks I lay before him, and as we all do, he's got character traits that could use work. But the most important things: that he love God and that he love his neighbor, he gets that. And he is already living it out. I can't quite put into words what that means to me, or how proud of him it made me.
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Now playing: Sarah Masen - Hope
via FoxyTunes
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