Retarded?

Last week, my wife and I went to the grocery store. As we walked through the parking lot I saw a young man (late teens to early twenties) with Down Syndrome walk out the door of the store. He was holding a stick with what appeared to be the last few strands of a pompon on the end. As he walked out he stared up in the sky with a wonder on his face that caught me wondering what had captured his attention. Was it the bright blue? Was it the shape of the clouds? His gaze was fixed as if he was looking at this wonder for the first time.

Moments later his mother came out the door behind him. As she put her arm around his shoulder his head turned and he gave her the biggest smile I'd seen in weeks. And it wasn't just a flash smile; his eyes locked hers for a good long time. In that moment his face communicated an intensity of love for his mother like there was nothing else on the earth that mattered, and he was soaking up every last drop of warmth from his mother's arm. Tears welled up in my own eyes and a lump formed in my throat as I felt blessed to witness this moment.

I think he got it right.