As the day continued, I questioned why life is unfair. Why did this man, who continued watching me, face such hardships when other people don't appreciate their lives?
After a while, my thoughts turned to my son who died. He had birth defects, and the doctors dubbed him "mentally handicapped." They even said that if he grew into adulthood, he wouldn't have a quality of life.
During the pregnancy, doctors claimed he'd have Down syndrome, but when that proved wrong, they tested for trisomy. More results came back negative, and experts never could label the strange mix of birth defects he had.
My world fractured when he died at 2 1/2 months.
And I'd never know what he would've been like—if he'd be gentle like this young man at the fair. Or inquisitive? Would his eyes have held that deep kindness too?
I could've cried at the newspaper booth, surrounded by articles about births and deaths, murders and other serious crimes...
I wished for a second that I could feel the arms of G-d wrap around me to remind me that everything will be okay and He somehow has a plan.
In that moment, when I’d totally descended into sadness, the man who had Down syndrome left the person next to him and gracefully zig-zagged toward me.
“I like you,” he said. “I just do.”
“Well... Thank you.” I blinked. "And, I like you!”
“Hug?” He kicked a rock by his shoe.
“Um. Sure.”
So I held out my arms wide, and he placed his head softly on my shoulder as I hugged him.
We remained momentarily, and it truly felt like the presence of G-d surrounded both of us, wrapping us in complete warmth.
The man turned, then lightly kissed my shoulder before darting away. Tears filled my eyes, not because I felt sad anymore, but because I knew that I'd just met an angel.
Here are some pictures of that week during that fair. That was such an incredible time.
Some of the best adventures of my life happened there.
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