To Tie A Tie

When David was born the very sensitive pediatrician told us to take him home and love him. He said that David would do everything a normal child would do, only more slowly. Over the years I have learned never to say never where David is concerned. After multiple failed attempts to teach him to swim, we decided that was something he just couldn't do. While visiting family in Kansas, David's cousins taught him to swim. Wow! We wondered if he would ever learn to talk or to read, but again he surprised us.

Now, Sheldon always tied David's tie for him on Sunday morning. After Sheldon died David got his brothers to do it for him. After they married and left home he took his tie to church and asked one of the kind men at church to tie it for him. Now here we are on the mission, living in a house with no other brethren. I tried to do it but my knots were sloppy at best. This morning David came to me with his tie already tied. "Who tied your tie?" I asked him. "I did!" he replied. Thinking he was joking, I asked him to show me. The photo is the finished product. Now I don't know if there is another man in the world who uses this particular knot, but I thought it looked pretty good. A little thing, yes, but a reminder that David is not "done" yet. He is still learning and growing and that should be a lesson to me also.

David's mission job is to work in the Church Office Building cafeteria. It is hard work and a full 8 hour day. He rises each morning enthusiastic about going to work and being a missionary. Even with all his apparent limitations, David's potential is limitless. He is an inspiration to me.