So thankful for the very special people that have entered our lives who have been deemed a "buddy" by my #ASD youngest. They are the people that just accept him and enjoy him and embrace who he is; they have been our own personal savior at times without knowing it, and I mean that sincerely. Yesterday was a very difficult day for Z, lots of stress and triggers and challenges. As his "everything should be happy and good" thinking struggled to fix all the things that went wrong he just was so overwhelmed and had a headache and was dizzy and nervous. When he realized it was Jeff day he wanted to go see his CVS buddy, but was so stressed that we almost left the store as fast as we got there when he didn't see J right when we got in.
I found someone to ask if J was there and when the answer was yes and that he just stepped to the counter, the smile that appeared on Z's face brought tears to my eyes. They laughed and talked like always. Everyone that works at the store (or almost everyone) knows Z and they welcome him and they know J is his buddy. This guy (J) always makes time for Z and/or has Z go around the store with him as he works. I can't count how many times I've tried getting Z to let J work because I'd worry he was bugging J, and both of them would do the "oh mom" eye roll. Jeff and all of Zach's special buddies over the years, have had incredible impacts on Z's life and therefore also on this grateful Mama's world.
