Walk the walk

“The world needs all kinds of minds.”

— Temple Grandin

I love that quote, don't you? Especially if you have a silly, quirky, march-to-the-beat-of-your-own-drum son like mine. Today I had to go pick up my 12-year-old after school (he had missed his bus) and when I texted to let him know I was outside, I watched as he came out the doors of his middle-school.

He was already smiling, looking around for my car. When he saw me, I got a bigger smile, a wave and then he sort of bounce-walked to my car, leaning forward and almost flapping his arms like wings a bit. Goofball :)

But then of course the mother/middle-schooler in me comes into play: Oh, he's being eccentric and silly! If the "cool" kids saw him, would they pick on him? Label him "weird"? Talk about him behind his back? Oh, god!

He got to the car, opened the back door and threw his backpack onto the backseat, then joined me up front. "Hi, Mom!"

"Hi, Hon! What was with the goofy walk to the car today?" I couldn't resist.

"Oh, I dunno, I just felt like it." He smiled and kinda laughed.

I decided to pursue it a bit further. "So how come you don't walk more like the boy coming out now?" The boy was probably a year or two older. Backpack over one shoulder. baggy jeans, scruffy hair, hoodie, sort of a frown — kind of a typical teenage boy, if you ask me. "It's like he assumes people are watching, and he wants to look cool." We both watched as the boy approached his mother's awaiting car.

And right before he got to her car he spat a big old gross, drooly loogie (and I am NOT going to "Google" the spelling of that word for fear of the images that might pop up on my screen) onto the sidewalk.

My son started cracking up! "Eww! Really, Mom? THAT's what you want me to be more like?? Oh, sure! I can do that!" :D

"Oh, that was classy! No, you're right, kiddo — do what makes you happy!"

Lesson learned!