My line of work entails a great deal of patience, more patience than I ever thought I would possess. One man's progress has been slower than a snail's pace and at times seems to be making none whatsoever. Yet week after week, his Mom and Dad drive him to my office and pay for his hour. I figure, they must be seeing some improvement. Each time, he starts out with "It's not been a very good week"; however in the middle of the apparent monotony of his life, there are little glimmers of light which are very small but significant indicators that change is indeed occurring.
Last fall he went into a new big box emporium a few weeks after it opened. "So what?" you might say. Considering it took him six years before he mustered up the courage to go into the old big box emporium that this new one replaced, this was a real milestone.
Not long ago he started off with his usual opening line and then began telling me about riding his bike all over town. One morning, he rode over to the grocery store, went in, bought some donuts and bananas, and rode home. He did all of this by himself and in broad daylight. I've been having him walk several times a day, but he typically walks very early in the morning or in the evening. He doesn't like to run into people because he thinks others look down on him for living at home. He has trouble with social interactions in general. Going into any store without Mom and Dad is a recent accomplishment and getting there on his own speed during daylight is nigh on miraculous.
I commented "You couldn't have done that three years ago". He agreed. "Why you couldn't have done that last year, could you?" No he couldn't have. He smiled when I told him that this was quite an accomplishment. And it truly was.
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