Quiet Stories

Thankfully, Sam likes to read. Sometimes it’s a Hardy Boys book or a Nancy Drew book. Sometimes it’s a comic book. Most often, he likes to read from the local newspaper. In fact, he likes reading the news so much that a couple of months ago, I finally signed up for an online subscription. I did this for Sam's benefit, not mine. At least, not directly.

When he's reading, Sam will frequently share a news story with me. When he comes across something interesting, he'll come over to me - or have me come over to him - and he'll read the story to me, reading it in a style that a former job coach once accurately called, “un-rushed.”

And when, for whatever reason, a story isn’t interesting enough to share, he’ll sit on the couch and read it out loud to himself, quietly, in that same un-rushed way. When he does this, I often can't make out more than the occasional word - which is fine. He's doing it for himself, not me. I only hear his slow rhythms and soft tones as he's reading along.

This has always been special to me, but with working out of home for these last couple of weeks, I find I treasure it even more.

I hope this never gets stifled. I hope, no matter who he’s with down the road, I hope no one ever tells him to quiet down or to read to himself. Instead, I hope they find the same quiet joy and comfort in these soft rhythms, whether Sam shares his stories or not.