It’s the little things that matter. Not home renovations, big screen TVs or fancy touch screen cell phones. I was reminded of that today, by the most innocent of gift givers. Alec is a four year child I’ve been working with for the last year. He calls me En-da and has since the day I met him.
Today, I was sitting in my office, it was eerily quiet because I was the only one in. I was preparing for my session with Alec, when all of sudden I heard the squeak of wet rubber boots and a familiar voice calling, “En-da! En-da!” in two clear distinct syllables.
I rushed out to see what the commotion was. I was greeted with a smiling Alec pushing a beautifully wrapped gift towards me. He insisted I opened it ASAP. So him and I sat down on the couch and I began unwrapping. I insisted he help. He showed me how best to open the present.
The gift was a book. A Dr. Seuss book, Green and Eggs and Ham. As I sat there, feeling overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness of this particular gift, Alec’s mom began telling me the story behind the book. She said he spied it at Wal-Mart and he was determined to have it so he could give it to me. She asked him why. And Alec told her that I told him it was my favourite book. She bought it and he couldn’t wait to bring it to me.
I shared that tidbit with Alec over a year ago, the very first time I met him. He was shy and wearing a Cat in the Hat sweater. I told him I had a collection of Dr. Seuss books as a child and my favourite was Green Eggs and Ham. In particular, I have fond memories of my mom reading it to me night after night.
The fact that Alec remembered this is especially moving, and my new book will sit proudly in my bookshelf.
