A Very Good Day
Saturday, September 26th, 2020 was a very good day, a day like I hadn't enjoyed in a very long time. "Can we go to the nearby Goodwill store? I wanna see if they have dumbbells." After my initial —and predictable— statement to the contrary of the likelihood, Daniel reminded me that he had found a 15-pound kettle bell in a Goodwill store. "But we'll go to Trader Joe's afterwards," I warned. "At this age, you have to follow his lead." The words of the child life specialist have proven to be true; nothing else works. Daniel's awkwardness with us disappears only when we do things on his terms. Right now, only a handful of things get him excited: weight lifting, playing videogames with his friends, finding free stuff in the neighborhood alleys, and buying sports equipment for cheap. "Mami, I really wanna get this. Hit me! You won't hurt me." Daniel had put on his most recent treasured Goodwill finding: a blue punching vest. By