As Lincoln stumbled out of the room from sleeping, he looked
at the tree and said, I want presents.” I told him No, it wasn’t Christmas yet
and he responded with his typical, “Awww!” He takes my hand and leads me to the
office and says, “I want C scissors and presents.” I laugh to myelf, wondering
why he calls them that. I realize he is asking for the wrapping paper. I get
him the wrapping paper and his kid scissors and he begins cutting and putting
paper on everything he can find from DVD cases to chairs. He says, “Okay Mom
sit.” I sit and he brings me the presents one by one and says, “Merry
Christmas!” As I am done with them he takes them and puts them under the tree.
I love that he finally understands Christmas more than previous years. I can’t
help but get the feeling that he is repeating a scene from one of his cartoon
shows. However, I dismiss that noticing the different way he has me do it each
time leading me to believe this is genuine and not rehearsed.
This whole scene reminds me of yesterday being at the Doctor
with Lucas. Dr. Edgington asked Lucas if his brother Lincoln talks. Lucas
responded with, “Yep he talks now.” I smile as he says it. Then they said, “Can Lincoln tell you what he
wants for Christmas?” Lucas said, “No he just says, ‘I Want Merry Christmas’
mimicking Lincoln as he would say it.” As he says this, I ignore that sad
feeling that he hasn’t done that. Even though Lincoln still doesn’t quite
understand the question or the logistics of the holiday, it feels good to
finally realize that he is excited about Christmas and presents. In previous
years, Lincoln didn’t have a clue what Christmas was. We decorated the top of
the tree only and even that usually ended up stripped because Lincoln wanted to
line up the Christmas balls and presents too. This year brings me new hope for
future years as we strip away the old things of the past and focus on the new
things to look forward to. I can’t wait to see his little face this year on
Christmas morning as he announces, “Merry Christmas everybody.”
***Writing activity from our Autism Writers' Club.
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