Jacques turned 10 last weekend.
His birthday was not so great.
He had a lot of anxiety about being the centre of attention. And because he likes everything all planned out, and that just didn’t happen, that stressed him out even more. By the time the day was over, he had fallen asleep extra-early at 7pm.
But there was still magic. Earlier, I had asked Jacques if there was anything specific he’d like for his birthday. He looked at me straight in the eye, which doesn’t happen very often, and said, “No mommy, I like surprises.” I was speechless, which also doesn’t happen very often. I realised in that moment, that I actually learned something about Jacques that was much more meaningful than what his toy interests were. And it was something I would never have expected due to his autism induced rigidity to liking predictability. I felt that I had been let in a a special little secret, something even though I had known Jacques for 10 years, I had never suspected.
The smile on his face when his brother sang him happy birthday at breakfast, his excitement to open his surprise gifts, and my luck at learning something new about Jacques was priceless.
It was a great birthday.
