One of the things that my wife and I try hard to do is to reach our children where they are. This is often difficult since he thinks and communicates differently than my wife and I do.
We constantly try to find ways to have him interact with us and others. And recently, I saw someone, or should I say something, just reach out and touch him in a way that I’ve never been able to…and never will.
On Christmas day 2020, we sat around and watched the streaming premier of Soul. I’ve loved Pixar films for years, and I’ve enjoyed watching them with the kids.
At one point in the film the main character, Joe (voiced by Jamie Fox) sits at a piano to play. The music just flows as is often does so perfectly in film, and I was thoroughly enjoying it. I look over and stopped watching, so I could watch my son. He was sitting there, totally entranced, bouncing and bobbing as the music took him some place else.
I loved to watch him and his reaction, it was so much more than just listening. It consumed him as he listened.
I felt bad knowing that the musically inept me (who’s sometimes lucky to get the CD player to work) could never touch him like that, but I was so happy I could be a part of that moment with him.
I don’t know what will reach him like that again, but I hope that’s not the last time I see it, and I intend to watch things with him again and again to find it when and where I can.
