A Good Egg

My niece Halie turned 2 and a half the day Eli was born.  However, whenever I think of her, I tend to think the gap is twice as big.  Halie is 13 and mature for her age, Eli is almost 11, and definitely not mature for his age.  Halie has always looked out for Eli and just within the past 2 weeks, I noticed a couple of things that made my heart swell....

last Sunday we participated in our first Parish Families Against Hunger packaging day.  I was not sure how either of the boys would do with this, but my "try anything once" attitude signed us up.  Eli lasted about 10 minutes before he lost interest and went in search of refreshments.  After that he was sitting on a stool watching when Halie called him over to help her measure the bags of food on the scale.  This job was enough to keep Eli's interest and he spent the remainder of the shift helping his cousin.

Yesterday was Easter and the kids were all running around in my parents front yard.  I was afraid that my littlest niece, Emma would be plowed over by the big kids and their bikes so I made a suggestion that Halie put her in the stroller and take her for a walk.  She  complied and started down the sidewalk, but not before stopping and insisting that Eli come with them. 

Now you may not think that either one of these is significant, but when you consider Halie's age and how all you wanted at 13 was to fit in, the last thing you would want is a cousin who is "different" lest he do something embarrassing, I find it extraordinary that instead of avoiding him(or worse) she choosing to embrace and include him.

I have read several books over the past few years- written by mothers of children with autism as well as autistic individuals themselves and often wished that Eli had an older sibling to guide him, watch over him, and help him.   It turns out he does, and I could not be more proud of my Goddaughter Halie:)