Today I spent a lovely day with my buddy Nathan. I worked for his mother for about a year when Jay was unemployed and grew to love he and his mother very much. Nathan is a hoot. He was born with down syndrome, and is amazing. He is funny and lively and loves to sing and dance. When I am with him I go from having a good enough voice to be a broadway star to being an "old fart". He is honest to a fault and great to be around. Lately Nathan is very lonely. He is the youngest of four children and his mother suffers from MS. It is in a very debilitating stage and she is in a long term care facility now. That leaves Nathan at home all day by himself. He is 28 years old and struggles with being bored out of his mind. He looks forward to our weekly "dates", visits from the Schwann man and the cleaning ladies.
We went to see a movie today. Nathan loves to treat me on our dates so I can afford to do it more often. We saw "The Curious Life of Timothy Green" and I was a bit worried that he would be bored since his usual interest in movies is a bit more action packed than this. I was pleased to find that Nathan has a soft side. It is a beautiful movie and I highly recommend it. Afterwards he wanted to go to lunch, so I pointed out the fast (I was running close to bus routes now) and easy places nearby. He chose Five Guys. Nathan is a wonderful creature of habit. He likes to eat lunch at the same time everyday. Lunch is at 12:00 he says. Although, he will compromise should a movie or going out to eat demand it. He always eats the same things for lunch which cracks me up! If he is home, he eats a banana and peanut butter sandwich. If he is out, he gets a bacon cheeseburger... Plain! It has become our habit to walk into a restaurant and I jokingly say, "I know what you want... A hot dog!" He says, "I think not, it's the bacon cheeseburger." I smile and tell him that is what he ALWAYS gets. He just says, "I know." I don't know why I'm always entertained by it, but I am.
My favorite times with Nathan however are the car rides to places. You see, Nathan is a HUGE fan of broadway musicals, so I always make it a point to have one playing when he gets in the car. Then we sing. At the top of our lungs. Now, I am an okay singer, but Nathan can't carry a tune to save his life. Nevertheless it is a joyous sound to hear and we love to do it. He is a great director of music as well and I am always to follow his lead. It is super fun.
The best thing about Nathan is his spirit. He is amazing. It is so clear how very close to the Lord he was before he came and how wonderfully innocent the Lord has kept him in this life. He exudes love and joy, and you can't help but be uplifted by him when you are around him. He stutters a great deal lately and when we go out, it is hard to understand him. To top that off, he loves to use other languages. I am always saddened by what people are missing out on when they are impatient with him and look to me to interpret. And I am overjoyed by people like the manager of his favorite restaurant (Houlihans) who greet him with joy and excitement and take the time to stop and listen to all he has to say. It is a blessing to soak in his spirit and absorb a little of his joy. I can't wait for our next date. He is taking me out to lunch for my birthday! Such a gentleman!
