Sarah is my special needs buddy that I
spend Sunday School with sometimes. I'm not sure about her special
needs, but I do know that she is special. And my recent experience
found no exception to this.
The air was cool, but the sun was
shining as Sarah and I walked from one building to the other. She was
carrying her stuffed animal for the day, a bird, as well as a photo
album and an animal book. I was carrying the rest of her
breakfast. She hadn't finished it before it was time to move onto the
next activity.
As we walked down the path, we made
faster progress than normal. Sarah usually stops to look at every
plant and bug along the way but today was different because we were
engaged in a conversation about what we had done over the summer.
However, that changed just as we arrived at the other building. She
spotted a cricket and had to have it. On the third hop, it was
secured safely in her fist. I was amazed she was able to do this
because crickets have a lightening fast jump. Also, I was amazed that
she was able to do this without dropping any of the other
things she brought for the day.
Sarah now had her prize and she wasn't
letting go. I told her we couldn't go inside with the
cricket, so she chose to stay outside and finish her breakfast rather
than give it up. In the middle of eating her scrambled
egg, she decided that she was going to feed the ants. She took a leaf
to use as a plate and put a small piece of egg on it. And
then we waited. She was a bit concerned and I was a bit confused
because no ants showed up. At least not for a while. Then they came
marching in. They worked together and
carried the egg off not to return. It was amazing to watch. It was as
if I had never seen ants carry crumbs before.
All the while, the cricket was firmly
trapped in her hand. I was concerned that it might be squished from
her firm grasp, but every once in a while she would reveal part of it
to show me that it was all right. And it was. (And when I say it, I
should say she. Sarah said that it was a girl cricket and I'm sure
she knew although I have no idea how. ) She then decided that if the
ants got something to eat, the cricket should have something too. She
pulled a leaf off a nearby bush and proceeded to feed the cricket. She
released it just enough for its head to come out above her fingers
and it started munching around the edges of the leaf. I could
actually see the little jaws moving as it was eating. That was one of
the coolest things I had ever seen. Ever.
Soon her mother showed up and
volunteered her coffee cup so Sarah could take home the cricket to
join others she had there. We parted our ways and I spent the rest of
the day telling anyone who would listen about the cricket I had seen
eating. And I also spent the day being thankful that I got to spend
the morning with Sarah.
