Well, we did it Busboy. We bonded. Not exactly Super Glue strength-maybe more like craft glue or even sticky tack. Not that I was always very tactful with you. Sometimes I pushed your comfort zone and ignored your obvious body language.
You see, we are all about nonverbal communication around here Busboy. I am constantly reading Aidan's game of charades when he is trying to get his point across and doesn't have the sign. So, I should have known better when I tried to speak to you when you had your head covered with your hood, ear phones in and chin tucked down to your chest.
I always wondered what happened on those mornings to put you in that frame of mind. Is it just part of the spectrum you're on? Were you sick and tired of having an aide at your age and riding the bus with elementary children? Were things not going well at school? Was the morning difficult at home?
We have mornings like that too Busboy. Not all our mornings start with me counting Aidan's toes and telling him a story then happily climbing on the bus. Many mornings Aidan tells us he doesn't want to go to school. He wants to go see a train or go ride a horse. "No school! NO school!" he signs.
Some mornings are just exhausting. Sometimes Aidan is a bit obsessive about how his monster trucks are lined up or he wants to say goodbye to all his toys. All that takes time for which even the kindest of bus drivers shouldn't have to wait . We have our share of grumpy mornings so I apologize for those mornings when I tried to get you out of your shell when I should have just left you alone. I deserved the rolling of your eyes and the snarl of your lip.
Then there were those morning when I didn't expect anything from you but when I climbed on the bus, (surprise!) there you were on the edge of your seat just waiting for a conversation. That's when I discovered how intelligent, interesting and engaging you could be. Those were great mornings for me.
I've been thinking lately, how the people we cross paths with become the pearls in our lives. The real ones, not the polished up fake ones that are perfectly formed and all the same size. Some relationships take time and extra effort and come with a little irritation, because that is how a pearl is formed~beauty born from irritation inside of a mollusk. (or the inside of a school bus:)
No grit, no pearl.
Pearls, like people are unique, no two are exactly alike. And we don't have to be..and that's the beauty of it. Thank you for letting me into your life Busboy. You made me think. You pulled me out of my comfort zone...a place I don't go willingly. But, I have no choice, its sort of my world. I will miss you. I will think of you often. I pray the world, which is sometimes unwelcoming and unaccommodating to differences, appreciates your flawed beauty. Godspeed.
