Gabriel

Saturday I babysat the Amazing Gee.  For those of you who know Gabriel, it’s easy to see how one could fall helplessly in love with the little guy.  When I first lived with St. Mary a couple of years ago, he’d just been diagnosed with Autism.  It took him a couple of months to make eye contact with me, or say my name or even let me pick him up.  But over time I guess the fact that I was living in the basement and didn’t appear to be going away anytime soon – he eventually warmed up to me.  Then of course, right about that time, I moved out.  We all met for dinner every other Thursday for the next year, plus Saturdays of pizza and ‘Finding Nemo’ which at the time was the only movie he’d watch and the only times he actually talked was to repeat lines from the movie.

Then I left on my BlissQuest and I missed him terribly.  With intervention, special speech appointments, head start school, a special diet and therapy he’s come so far in his social abilities that he’d almost recognizable to me a year later.

While on the Autism spectrum he’s highly functional, but maintains some problem areas such as severe temper tantrums and the inability to hold a focus.  He struggles with language but excels in music.  For a five year old child to be able to keep a rhythm and sing on key to anything he hears, that’s pretty damn amazing.  Hence, the name Amazing Gee.

So here I am, living in the basement again.  He obsesses now about the color purple, asking perhaps a hundred times a day if something is purple.  As he learns language he also asks what I’m doing – a lot.  When I come up in the morning to get my coffee before going back downstairs, he stands at the child gate and asks, “What you doing, Bafeeeeeeeenaaaaaa?”

“Getting my coffee, little man.”

“I’m widdle man?”

“Yes, you’re the little man.”

It’s sort of a morning routine.  St. Mary started joking around about my antisocial morning routine like I was the Once-ler, from Dr. Seuss’s book, ‘The Lorax’ and I was coming up for my coffee before returning to the Lerkim.

Now if Gee asks what I’m doing I say. “What do you think I’m doing?”

To which he’ll respond. “Going to the Lerkim.”

It’s been a long road with St. Mary and The Amazing Gee, but Saturday as I wrestled, laughed, played and adored him – I’m ridiculously grateful that they’re both in my life.  His particular brand of innocence is so precious and his sense of humor just kills me.  For example, whenever I pull out my camera to take a picture, he immediately lifts up his shirt – the five year old kid is a flasher!  I can only guess that perhaps when he’s at his dad’s house they watch a lot of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ or something because I have no idea where he learned it.

Anyway, St. Mary came home and while I consider myself a consummate babysitter and childcare provider – I must admit, by the time she got home I was exhausted.  How do people do this on a daily basis?  Six hours felt like ten years.

She walked in right as I was teaching Gee the lyrics and melody for ‘I Feel Pretty’ from West Side Story.  He was wearing his Strawberry Shortcake hat and dancing with me in the kitchen where we’d both just gotten done eating chocolate cake for dinner.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Well, I figure, he needs some show tunes to take home to his dad’s house next week.”

“So how was he?”

“He was great! We watched Disney sing along, played, built blocks, wrecked Barbie’s Volkswagen, ate cake and wrestled.” I sighed, “How was your day?”

“You guys ate cake?”

“Yeah, but I got the Gluten Free- Dairy Free mix so it wouldn’t ruin his diet.”

“You guys had Cake? For dinner?”

“Well, yeah….” Suddenly, I wondered if I were perhaps not such a great babysitter.  She leaves me alone with him for a few hours and comes back to discover her son now flashes the camera, sings Broadway musicals, cross-dresses like Strawberry Shortcake and eats junk food for dinner.

Turns out, he was on a sugar high for the next few hours, refusing to go to bed and had a major meltdown.  I felt terrible.  I should have known better.  I’m just used to treating kids like I’d treat my nieces or my siblings.  It’s been awhile since I believed that you can’t have cake for dinner.  I have as much learning to do about his special needs as anyone who’s going to be in his life. 

Feeling like a total looser, I went downstairs to change and go meet a friend for coffee.  As I opened the child gate to the basement, Gee walked over to me, put his little hand on my arm and said, “Bye, Baffeeeeeennnaaa. Go to the Lerkim.”

I’ll have to work harder, I think, to be a better influence on him.  While I’m still for teaching him show tunes and cross dressing, I was thoroughly chastised for letting him lick the spoon when we made the cake, and I think St. Mary will probably not let me baby-sit for awhile.  This actually would bum me out since I had so much fun hanging with him.  I’ll just try harder to be better at it, because how can you not love this guy…

So freaking adorable, and we’ve worked so hard just to get this far, just to make a connection, just to break past the Autism barrier and be friends.  He’s worth it.  How could he not be?