One of those special moments

I have just come back from running one of my residential short breaks for families that I work with in Sussex. Lampworkbeader knows where I've been as it's close to her. It's the most amazing big old house with wonderful facilities for children and adults to relax and play safely. On this occasion the majority of children all had some form of Autistic Spectrum disorders,mostly on the high functioning end, Aspergers types. You might think this would be a recipe for disaster but it was amazing how well the boys interacted and seemed to understand one another and give space to each other when they were getting frustrated and upset.

The weather was perfect so the play leader was able to take the children on the boating pond and on the zip wire. One young lad had never been on a boat before and by the end of the afternoon he was paddling around in the kayake with great expertise!

It was quite hard work for my colleague and I because basically we had to produce three meals each day for 22 people and keep everything running smoothly, so not much time for sitting and relaxing for us. But we did have the help of a couple of very kind volunteers to help with the main meal each day.

Saturday evening we had a BBQ, we roped the men in to help with the cooking, it's funny isn't it how men love to BBQ but don't normally involve themselves in kitchen activities otherwise!

Now some of the boys had found the spot in the garden where camp fires could be lit and one boy was determined we should have a camp fire. So it was agreed that once it got darker we would light the fire, we sent the boys out to collect wood and twigs, which they did with great jubilation. Soon we had a huge pile of logs and twigs and got the fire lit. To start with it was just my colleagues and some of the boys enjoying the fire but as the evening drew on more adults came to join us and one Dad had his guitar, he sat next to me and started playing. He was very good, he could play by air many of my favourite songs from the 60's,70's and 80's as well as some we sing in church. So as he got into his playing I started singing quietly, neither of us were very good at remembering words, but we muddled through.I'd had afew glasses of wine so pretty relaxed and just enjoying reliving some of my youth through songs. He asked me to suggest something I knew , I suggested one of my favourites "Will you " by Hazel O'conner, he asked me to sing it, so there I am singing to him " You drink your coffeee and I sip my tea, and we're sitting here, playing so cool, thinking what will be will be......", but he doesn't know it,but wishes he does and suggests something else We start on Beatles songs and after a while I realised the others had stopped talking and were listening to us, so i encouraged them to join in, we had a good go at The Streets of London, Hey Jude, Yellow Submarine and a Snow Patrol one. It was one of those warm fuzzy moments when you just want the moment to go on forever. Those moments don't come very often these days, but it is one that I will treasure in my memory for ever.

There is something about that closeness, that connection, of being played to and singing with that really moved me. You could feel the electricity in the air.

It brought back a delightful memory of when I was 18 and going off to Switzerland to see my cousin and work for 2 months. I had to catch a train from Norwich at 11.30pm to Liverpool St Station and then cross London to get to Gatwick, all over night.My parents carefully put me in a carriage with another woman, but she got out at Ipswich and a young man got in. We got talking, he was going to Bournmouth to be a Life Guard on the beach for the summer, but he was also a singer in a local band and after a while he started to sing to me, all sorts of songs from the 60's mostly, he did know all the words! He sang so beautifully and it was so moving to be serenanded like that. When we reached London, he wouldn't leave me on my own and agreed to wait with me with me until the underground opened at 5.30am, so there we sat in Liverpool Street station with him singing quietly to me all these wonderful old songs. Once the Underground opened, we hugged and kissed Goodbye and went our separate ways, never to meet again.It was so romantic and a real warm fuzzy moment that I've never ever forgotten or been able to match until this weekend.
Just one moment in time.

Would anyone else like to share one of their own warm and fuzzy moments with us?