Niceness

There are nice people in the world. I’ve probably met both of them, but it’s good to know that they do exist.

We took the kids to the lake today, probably for the last time this summer. It wasn’t very crowded: just us and a woman with a brood of girls from ages ranging (I’m guessing) from about six up to perhaps thirteen. Clearly they were not all hers. And they were not all very nice, either (for that whole story read my post in Quite Frankly).

But we’re discussing the nice guys right now, the two lifeguards who had the goodness of heart to be kind to a slightly quirky little boy. My mother-in-law pointed out that Gus is a very likable and sweet child, and of course I agree, but that doesn’t always stop people from giving him looks or ignoring him because they don’t understand his means of communication or being flat out mean because he’s making those engine revving noises between each thought that excites him. Sometimes people are not so compassionate, but the lifeguards were, and I will never forget that kindness.

Gus had decided to take his boogie board into the water for a spell, just after the lifeguards had decided to take a dip. This is very unusual for our lifeguards; we rarely see them in the water. At first, Gus was just hanging out, trying to climb on the board and splashing back into the water. Then he got the idea in his head to strike up a conversation with the lifeguards. Now, I couldn't hear the entire exchange, but I know there was some talk of different Disney movies, and I can extrapolate the rest. Gus probably asked if they'd seen each of the movies that he's seen, probably said that he's seen movies that he hasn't, and more than likely told them all about the upcoming live show at Disney World featuring the Choo-Choo Soul and the Imagination Movers. I'm fairly certain that Gus inquired as to why they were in the water at all as well. Let me just point out that one of the guys is probably going to be a senior in high school in a few days and the other is heading off to college.

Instead of blowing him off to finish their discussion of Halo III or whatever it is that boys their age talk about, they spent no less than an hour hanging out with Gus. After a while the older of the two even started holding the board so that Gus could get on and fling himself off. They totally engaged him and it was just the most awesome thing to watch. There was no impatience, no raised eyebrows or cocked heads when he did the little humming thing he does sometimes. The three of them were like old buddies.

I got in the water after a while so that my father-in-law could keep a closer eye on my daughter, and the boys chatted with me on and off, and didn't push away when Gus tried to interact with them some more.

They really were lovely young men and I wish only good things for them. Some people just deserve it.