While a store Santa might not be the real thing, they’re filling important shoes (or boots!) and as such, have a huge responsibility to the kids who trust them.
And one Santa who took his role very seriously indeed has made a little boy with autism very happy – and in the process, melted the heart of his mum.
When Naomi Johnson took her son Landon to the RiverTown Crossings Mall in US state Missouri, she didn’t expect the meeting to turn out the way it did.
“My child is amazing!” she wrote in a lovely Facebook post. “He has his quirks and drives me bonkers, but he is amazing! The other day he went to see Santa w/ the cousins. He said his peace [sic] to the old man in red and walked away.”
However, minutes later he decided he wanted to go back to tell the man in red he was autistic, so he started flapping his arms excitedly.
“Santa sat him next to him and took L's hands in his and started rubbing them, calming them down,” wrote Naomi. “Santa asked L if it bothered him, having autism? L said yes, sometimes. Then Santa told him it shouldn't. It shouldn't bother him to be who he is. L told Santa that sometimes he gets in trouble at school and it's hard for people to understand that he has autism, and that he's not a naughty boy. Santa told L to not worry and that he has been a very good boy being who he is. They sat, and chatted for at least 5 mins. Santa payed [sic] close attention and listened to him.”
And as you might expect, he exchange made Naomi’s heart melt.
“My child is a great advocate for himself,” she wrote. “But this day was different. He opened up to this person about who he was and he was accepted. He wasn't a science experiment, like he gets treated when most people find out he’s autistic.
“He was Landon, sitting with Santa and being told that it was OK to be himself. Mommy tells him all the time that he's special and I love him the way he was made, but it's always nice to hear it from others. To be told that it's ok to be who he is.”
What a wonderful story! Here’s to all the big-hearted people making Christmas special for our kids through their kind and compassionate actions.
