Sometimes, there are moments in autism that makes it suck less........today I had one of those moments.....

Rock and I roll in to the Winn Dixie parking lot on two wheels. Lots to do and not enough time. Story of everyone's life. The Winn Dixie is one of Rock's favorite places to go - so he is pretty stoked. As I'm getting out of the mom-mobile, I notice an obviously homeless man approaching me. Oh great. He's about to ask me for $5 so he can go get his Mad Dog 20/20 fix. Cynical I know, but welcome to the real world.

Suprisingly, he asks if I would just buy him some food. I was so taken aback that I think I just stood and stared at him for a minute before it registered. I said of course and told him to go ahead and come inside with us and pick out what he liked.

I usually have a death grip on Rock's hand as we walk through the store. He is known for getting in other people's buggies when they are not looking. Today, when I reach for his hand, he pulls away. Instead, he grabs the homeless man's hand and wants to walk with him. It was the most non-judgemental moment I'd ever witnessed. As we walk down the aisles, I bet we looked like quite the threesome. A worn out mom trying to fake it in her high heel boots and too much concealer, an autistic 6 year old with his clothes on inside out carrying a stuffed reindeer (that's a whole other blog), and a large, elderly, disheveled black man with a full grown beard all holding hands.

The man (we'll call him Fred - he looked like a Fred) got himself something from the deli and thanked us. I saw the store manager talking to him on our way out asking him not to bother the customers. I politely told him he wasn't a bother. In fact, he sure helped put everything into perspective.

Autism takes away the ability to be judgemental or see the difference in others. The fact that Rock didn't know it was "socially innappropriate" to hold hands with a homeless man is part of what makes him special. Maybe we are the ones who don't understand social rules............

Bon Appetit Fred!