It was so nice to see him smile

There's a family that goes into my local, who, obviously, given my all too regular attendance, I've seen on a goodly number of occasions. The various members of the family appear with widely differing frequency, though. Mum is almost never there - I think I've only ever seen her once - Dad is pretty much a regular, albeit probably not quite as regular as me, while the oldest daughter is there by far the most often, for the simple reason that she works there. The two younger siblings are what this post is really about, though. The middle child, who comes in quite often with her dad, is disabled - cerebral palsy, at a guess - and while she's 13 (as I accidentally found out recently), her disability means that she's pretty much at the level, linguistically and behaviourally, of a toddler. Very sad, of course, that an individual's potential should be so thwarted by something completely beyond anyone's control, but such things, unfortunately, do happen. The youngest child is a boy, around 11, who used to come in a fair bit, but who I hadn't seen for some months until this evening. When I have seen him before, though, I've been struck time and again by one thing. With his sister being, perforce, the centre of attention, he always seems to be overlooked. And I'm pretty sure, even at his young age, that he's well aware of it. To say that he has 'sad dog eyes' much of the time is, if anything, a considerable understatement. He doesn't appear to complain, never plays up, just looks heartbreakingly sad and lonely. As was the case when they first came in this evening, and I passed their table en route to the bar. Everyone was fussing around sis, while he sat at the table on his own. For once, though, a few minutes later, when they were ordering food, he was paid some attention - the staff evidently know him through 'big sis' working there - and the change in him was little short of miraculous. He suddenly became an animated, smiley boy, as you might expect of someone of his age. It was so lovely to see, like the proverbial flower blooming. The family eventually left just before I did, but I saw them again in the supermarket across the road a few minutes later when I called in to buy something for my evening meal. The boy looked at me, obviously recognising me, and I gave him a little smile of my own. He returned it with interest, and did a little pirouette, for good measure! Just amazing, that such simple things can have such a profound effect.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B