Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: TOWER (12/01/22)
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TITLE: Why do you hate me? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
12/08/22 -
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Outwardly I kept a straight face, but inwardly I was laughing like, well, like a mom who knows exactly what her kid will say next.
“We don’t hate you, bud. We love you. But if we are going to eat at the restaurant, you’re going to have to be brave,” I said, placing a comforting hand on my youngest son’s arm.
Liam stared up at the 750-foot building towering above us. “Do we really need to go all the way up? Look, there’s a café right here,” he pointed at the coffee shop that took up retail space at the base of the tower. “We could eat there.”
“But we have reservations for ‘The Chart House,’ and that’s at the top of the Tower.” James wrapped an arm around Liam’s shoulder and hugged his son close. “You can do this; I know you can.”
With encouragement from our other kids, we slowly made our way through the imposing front doors of the Tower of the Americas, where we confirmed our dinner reservation and were directed to the elevator that would whisk us up those 750 feet in less than a minute.
You know the term ‘deer in the headlights’? Well, that was Liam as we waited. His body might have been dead-still, but his eyes displayed agitation and even, I venture to say, fear. The elevator doors opened, and we stepped in. I can neither confirm nor deny that I might have subtly physically body-pushed my son in.
“I can’t look! I can’t look! I can’t look!” Liam muttered as he realized that three sides of the elevator were glass, the only solid wall being the operator’s panel. “Turn and look at the panel,” James encouraged Liam.
Liam turned inwards whilst the rest of our kids oohed and aahed over our rapid ascent, pointing out landmarks as they disappeared.
The elevator halted, and we all exited into the revolving restaurant for our celebratory meal. “I’m so proud of you, Liam,” I said, standing close to my son. “You did it!”
“Yeah! I did, didn’t I? When we go back down, I’m going to look! And mom, I don’t hate you!”
I grinned at his exuberance. My Liam, my autistic son, who has overcome so many challenges in his young life, had faced another fear and conquered it. As we waited to be seated, I reflected on Liam. He deals with things every day that are hard for him. He’s had to learn to read people, ‘read’ a room, make small talk, and sustain relationships. Things that neurotypical people take for granted or do automatically are unnatural for him. He has withstood it all. Every day he is thrust into situations that test him, and push him in ways I will never understand. Through it all, he has been a tower of resilience and strength.
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Our youngest son is autistic, and when he was younger, he’d always cry, “why do you hate me?” when we pushed him to try new things.
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