Unfettered Joy
This week I received an award for being a good bee! In all seriousness it was truly an honor to receive a prestigious award based on service and in the name of a lovely human being, Mary Evertz. Every year in honor of this iconic woman the Boy Scouts of America selects individuals who epitomize service. It was one of the best acknowledgements I’ve ever received.
Well, someone must introduce you and I selected one of my dearest friends and someone I consider a sister, Jeannine Williams. We have been soul spirits for about 20 + years. I asked her to introduce me because I know she understands my passion for service and shares it. What I did not know is that she would acknowledge my journey with our daughter. So here comes the unfettered joy part!
While Jeannine was sharing my journey she mentioned my dedication to our daughter and advocacy for autism spectrum disorder. As soon as our daughter’s name was called she stood up, acted as if she was in the Academy Awards, waved her arms and received the full glory of applause. It was unexpected and beautiful.
You see I had to really explain to our daughter why it was important for her to come to my award ceremony. I did not know if she would be able to tolerate the different people or noises or navigate a new space. We were in unknown territory.
Every once in awhile we have this unexpected acquiescence to behavior our daughter does not agree with. We know it is uncomfortable for her to be in new spaces so we do not push but sometimes it’s nice to see her happy in our world too! As I said – it was a good night!
