A Moment in the Park: Do our children remember before they were? Do they remember other souls?

We all needed to escape the many pressures of life. We packed our water bottles, put on our hiking boots, and headed to the park. We all seemed to instantaneously absorb all the energy nature had to offer.

For a day, the jungle gyms were just manmade three dimensional works of art decorating the park in the distance; primary colored abstracts that did not beckon. Instead, freedom filled the children as they ran through the field of dandelions. The bouquet they created made you wonder why anyone wanted to rid such beauty from their yards; each individually picked after careful consideration.

The river was high and her force rushed the canoes past us as the girls ran giggleing up the bank. They stopped to climb a tree, skip rocks across the river and smell different wild flowers. Their spirits were definitely being filled by the many attributes of nature.

As we ventured forward, Sahara stopped and abruptly turned around. We all turned to see what else nature was offering her spirit today.

We were stunned to see this elderly lady being pushed in a wheelchair.

Without hesitation she walked up to her and said, “Hi!” They immediately became enamored by one another. She placed her little hand gently on the woman’s hand and walked beside her.

I was amazed at the calmness, the eye contact, and the verbal exchange; all things foreign in the world of autism. But somehow, in this moment, all of the constructs vanished and they merged together offering (without expectation) what the other needed.

The woman beamed at the innocence of a four year old, while Sahara beamed with the wisdom of an eighty-four year old. The chattered together… I am sure that somehow this woman was able to understand the jumbled words that flowed from Sahara. As they parted ways the woman quietly said, “I am sure I will bump into you again.” Sahara smiled and said, “ba-bye.”

A moment suspended in the timeless nature of the park ended. The girls walked ahead of us on the path as we were left in the quiet wake of a moment we were sure had been cosmic; a moment where two souls either reunited or united, maybe both.

There was a chemistry that made even the most skeptical understand that somehow we are all connected and have possibly known each other in another time and place. I wonder if anyone else notices these moments with their children.