Some of life\u2019s most poignant lessons come from the least expected places. For me that often means coming from my youngest son, Joshua.<\/p>\n
As said here many days, for those who believe special needs equates to some lesser quality of life, I contend you have not met my Josh. He is vibrant and sensitive and incredibly insightful; he, too, is often better with people than I.<\/p>\n
One of the many<\/em> things I admire about Josh is that he doesn\u2019t hide his emotion. That doesn\u2019t mean he takes it out on unfortunate others, but it does mean that when he\u2019s happy, we all know it. When he\u2019s excited, his enthusiasm brightens up everyone else in the room. And when he\u2019s mad, he\u2019s really mad. There is no doubt whatsoever.<\/p>\n We adults \u2014 well \u2014 we\u2019re better at hiding things, being fairly well versed in managing the impressions we wish others to have of us. The sharing of emotions, though, is typically a higher priority for Josh than managing those impressions.<\/p>\n Last week, no less, Josh was mad.<\/p>\n Let me begin by explaining that Josh loves<\/em> many things\u2026 from Batman and Disneyland, to nachos and mozzarella cheese sticks, to his two older brothers and Joey Tribbiani. And consistent with his emotional expression, when Josh loves<\/em> something, that zestful glee is 100%, absolutely contagious. Yes,<\/em> Josh\u2019s love is contagious.<\/em><\/p>\n Note that one of the things on that list of things he loves is sushi. While we don\u2019t get too into the raw fish or eely edibles, Josh loves creating a cold rice combo with a small vegetable and shrimp garnish, wrapped in seaweed, and topped with a modest crunch. Thankfully, Wednesdays are often \u201cSushi Day\u201d at school.<\/p>\n But last Wednesday, he had a problem.<\/p>\n Someone had graciously decided to bless Josh\u2019s special needs class with a thoughtful gift. They were bringing lunch to the entire class, purchasing Arby\u2019s roast beef sandwiches for everyone in the room.<\/p>\n For over a week, in fact, Josh had expressed his joy that someone was bringing them Arby\u2019s!<\/p>\n And he continued to express that joy\u2026 that is\u2026 until Wednesday morning when he awoke, realizing that the acceptance of the gift meant no sushi. Remember: Josh loves<\/em> sushi.<\/p>\n He was ranting and raving and unquestionably grumpy.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so mad!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Such was a mere one of his angry refrains.<\/p>\n Allowing the authenticity of his expression to play out, I felt no need to squelch any emotion until he kept repeating himself with even more ratcheted up responses. His continued expression was causing him to lose focus.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh,\u201d<\/em> I finally said, during one small break in the ranting. \u201cDo you see what\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He looked at me with those big blue eyes that kind of wanted to stay mad, but still keenly aware that he should at least listen to other potential sources of wisdom.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are so mad, your anger is keeping you from being thankful. Your anger is getting in the way of seeing and doing what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n To be clear, Josh did not become instantly happy; as noted, he\u2019s not one to fake how he feels. But he was able to stop ranting, surrender his anger, go to school, and then offer his thanks. He was able to keep his anger from getting in the way.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some of life\u2019s most poignant lessons come from the least expected places. For me that often means coming from my youngest son, Joshua. As said here many days, for those who believe special needs equates to some lesser quality of life, I contend you have not met my Josh. He is vibrant and sensitive and … <\/p>\n
\nAR<\/p>\n