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On our weekly McDonald’s playdate, the guy who cleans the dining room was doing his “all kids must wear socks in the Play Place” rounds. We never go without socks. Even if it wasn’t a rule, I would never let TJ run around in that germ-infested Play Place without at least a pair of socks between him and the filth.
There was one little boy who wasn’t wearing socks. He might have been about two years old, maybe less. The cleaning guy told her that the kid needed to be wearing socks, and that some could be purchased for a dollar at the counter. The woman took the kid – kicking and screaming – out of the Play Place to sit in the main dining room.
My family and I were upset by this. The socks only cost $1, and the money goes to the Ronald McDonald House – but the mom took the little boy out of the play area instead of buying him the socks.
I had to go refill my drink, and I noticed that the little boy was still crying.
Back at the table, we were all talking about how we wanted to just get a pair of socks for him, but that the mom would probably be angry about us interfering.
But I couldn’t let it go. I took a dollar and bought a pair of socks. I brought them over to the mom.
“Excuse me,” I said, “I got these so he can go play inside.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” she replied, smiling. “Where did you get those?”
I told her they had them up at the counter. She offered to pay me back. I told her not to worry about it, because they were only a dollar. She thanked me again.
After they finished eating, she brought the little boy back in to play. I tried not to pay too much attention to him, because I didn’t want the mom to feel awkward.
When the mom was getting ready to leave, she brought the little boy over to the table to say thank you – in sign language. I hadn’t even noticed he was wearing a hearing aid before.
I felt my heart in my throat when I said, “You’re welcome.”
I think that TJ is still too young to have picked up on the value of doing nice things for other people, but I’ll never forget how good I felt when that little boy thanked me.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
