Stranger has kind gesture for an autistic boy who thought he was Santa

One mother posted in the Today community how their family met one kind stranger in a hotel elevator recently.

Kate Swenson wrote that she and her husband Jamie plus two boys and a baby get on the elevator. What do you expect, they were loud and busy.

“Our 2-year-old is trying to push all the buttons. I am using my hip to block him,” Kate shared.

The mom-of-three said their 10-year-old son Cooper is “autistic and adores elevators. So he is happy flapping and dancing and making lots of noises.”

When the elevator door is about to close, her husband yells out…‘I’ll hold the door for you!’ He let “a big, burly, man wearing leather from head to toe” hop inside. There’s a Harley Davidson logo on his chest. He must be a biker.

The stranger has a long white beard that “completes the look. He’s gruff-looking, I suppose. Rough. Tough. Big. Stoic.”

Kate wrote that she’s cursing her polite husband for inviting this big guy “into our chaos.” She described her family as “a traveling circus.”

But Kate noticed that when the man appeared, Cooper’s face light up “like a Christmas tree” and the biggest smile spreads across his face.

Kate shared her worry. “I instantly know what’s coming and I hold my breath. I see my husband do the same. We know.”

Cooper approached the stranger, reached his hand up, and ran it through his white beard.

“And a belly laugh erupts from Cooper and he claps and demands a high five from the man.”

Kate and her husband waited for the man’s reaction.

The big man smiled and gave Cooper a high five.

“Jamie and I exhale. And smile. And introduce Cooper. And autism,” Kate shared.

When they got off the elevator Cooper showed his mom his iPad. It was Santa Claus dancing on the screen.

“Cooper points to the elevator and waves goodbye. And giggles. His face saying it all.”

Cooper met “Santa Claus” in the elevator.

He was so happy, he dances toward their room.

“We are very much working on personal space and boundaries but it’s a work in progress as they say,” Kate said.

“What I do know is if Cooper pays attention to you…it’s a gift. And you are lucky,” she continued.

Was it Santa? Maybe. Maybe not. But he sure was a nice man.

Source: The Mirror