r/RandomActsOfChristmas • u/pokchop92 registered • 16d ago
fulfilled [Request] 1 , 2yo , Luke , South Carolina
Hi Santas! I'm requesting for my sweet 2 year old son, Luke. He's the strongest & most inspiring person I know & he makes me want to keep choosing to be better everyday.
Luke is a little musician. Music was his very first language; it was the only thing he'd respond to in the NICU to get him to eat. He was born almost a lb & a half & spent his first 105 days in the NICU on oxygen support & he got through so much. Now he's a perfect & mostly healthy little agent of chaos. He's autistic & mostly nonverbal (except for , "puppy , choo choo , ride , go , ball , & yellow" - he also knows how to quack & Moo & he yelled "HOHOHO" in Santa's face when he met him the other day) but he signs & gestures very efficiently. He also sings very well & loves mimicking sounds he finds interesting. He has perfect pitch.
He loves guitars & pianos. He has a collection of tiny guitars for each occasion (car, bed, outside, the one he can tune, the one with all the colors...) & he can figure out simple melodies on the piano by ear (twinkle twinkle, little lamb, Mario noises). I know that sounds crazy but other people have noticed too, unprompted! He's got a fantastic taste in music; mostly soul & R&B vibes. But he's also batty for Elmo & Mrs Rachel. So, he's flexible. He gets onto you if you talk over his songs!
He's been getting very into things that go. Cars, Trucks, bikes, tractors. He's taken a real liking to trains. They go, make fun noises, & have bass. It's so fun seeing him light up & make noises of the vehicles he sees!
He loves learning & figuring out new things. & he's so smart & silly & cheeky! He'll sign something in, I swear, a sarcastic way & then side eye you & cut you the half-grin. I can't even. Keeps me on my toes.
He's been through so much. Especially in the last few months. Like has been... very blustery. We were displaced by Hurricane Helene at the end of September. We were out of power for a few weeks & had to spend everything we had & could get on hotel & food. & we lost so much. FEMA is overloaded & doesn't seem to share my urgency for Christmas. Which I totally get. But it all makes my belly hurt. Add to that, he suddenly developed a severe allergy to one of his 3 safe foods (he has ARFID & a severe oral aversion from his extended time in the vent as a baby. He will only tolerate liquids or purees in his mouth or he'll throw up & stop eating) while we were at the hotel & now only trusts one. One thing he's willing to eat. Ever. I'm not sure how to convince him that it's OK now. But he's been such a trooper. He's not able to articulate some of his clearly more complex feelings, though. He's been signing "I'm sorry" before he asks to do anything. I guess I've apologized to him & had to say no a lot lately. That also makes my belly hurt. He doesn't understand, but he's such a good boy. I don't want him to think for a second that anything with the storm & losing his stuff or how sick his food made him, had anything to do with his behavior or doing something wrong. He's actually been so very amazingly good in spite of the upheaval. I wish I could give him a whole train of ducks & puppies playing guitars for how amazing he is.
I'm so sorry for how late this request is. It was very tough for me to make & I've been trying to write this out since last night. I'm not very good at this & I have so much to say about him & why he deserves so much more than I can give him this year. I know it's long. Thank you for reading & for helping make Christmas magical. Bless y'all!
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2F5Z4T94RRJLL?ref_=wl_share
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u/School_House_Rock 16d ago
Rubber Ducky book (you're the one) 😍 and Ms. Rachel book headed your way, arrival tomorrow.
Put me down for front row seats when Luke is playing at Madison Square Garden.
(Side note: OP, I spell my name the same way - cool meeting someone else)