The power of positive thinking is completely amazing!!!  My wife and I took a little day trip today. It started out great because I got to sleep in!!!  We went to a shopping mall about an hour away, and my wife loves it because it has a HUGE play area that I take Harrison while she goes to the places she wants (I'm not quite ready for him to go to Victoria's Secret!), and she checks in on us every so often. Harrison started out by stimming, and I anticipated this.  He just ran back and forth, keeping his eyes on the handrail leading to the play area.  It was pretty crowded, and he may have been overstimulated and/or intimidated.  I just stood by the entrance and greeted him every time he ran by.  He was smiling, so I knew he must be having a good time.  I didn't bother to get in the way.  A few children did, and I tried to encourage him to say "excuse me."  We're still working on that one.  After a little of this, he would stop and look to the play area every time or two around the handrail.  I could tell he was going to play, but I just didn't want to put any pressure on him.  Then, another little boy started to hang out by the same handrail as Harrison, and I thought there would be a confrontation.  What Harrison did completely caught me off guard and amazed me.  He leaned over, LOOKED THE BOY IN THE EYES, and said, "Friends."  I just about lost it right there.  My eyes started to water, and I got completely caught up in the moment.  I was so proud of my little boy, and if he did nothing else the rest of the day, it still would have been a great day. After that, Harrison actually went into the play area and started playing with the other children.  He didn't seem intimidated by them.  He didn't shy away from them.  If there were other children on top of a slide, Harrison would climb right up there with them.  I was so proud of my little boy, and I was just beaming with pride.  Harrison didn't stop with the other children.  A few times, he would go up another parent there and give them a hug.  Every time he did this, the person couldn't stop smiling the whole time he was with them.  My little boy was as happy as could be, and he was spreading his happiness to everybody he could.   It was like he knew that was a reason he was there.  It was almost as if he escaped his autism, if only for a few hours.  I don't know how long we were there, but I was hoping it would last forever.  I couldn't count how many times my eyes started to water, but I didn't really care.  My little boy was interacting with the world in ways that he never really had before.  It's time like this that make all the hard work, diet planning, hours in therapy, everything we do worth it.  My little boy is the bravest person I know; I love him, and he truly is my hero.