When are We Truly Revealed?

I'm amazed at how life can take its twists and turns and, in the end, can bring us back where we began.  There are certain common courtesies we should learn, certain manners and behaviors we should follow.  We grow, we learn, and we think we've got it all together, so we go on our merry little way and are surprised to find that we have managed to get ourselves caught with our pants down, stuck in a tree, and confused as to what we are supposed to do next.

My 5 year old Nathaniel, the one with Autism/Asperger, is, for the most part, potty-trained.  He still wets the bed several nights a week, but during the day, he pretty much usually goes to the bathroom.  He does usually, when he's inside, and when he's not distracted by something else.  Usually.  Did I mention it's when he's inside?

I was straightening up the family room today while the children played outside.  It was a glorious day, actually, with perfect weather.  It was neither too hot nor too cold, and the kids wanted to jump, run, hoot, and holler.  I could look out the windows and check on them every so often and still be able to get some housework done.  So I figured there was no harm to be had.  Right?

I looked out the window and saw something I have seen before, what I have hated to see, and I wish I no longer would see.  On that side of the house is a little tree that is perfect for climbing, especially for my children at their current age.  For that reason alone, it is their favorite tree in our yard.  What I saw there was nothing short of horrific, although when I described it later to my husband, he did not even attempt to stifle his laughter.

There, up on a limb, sat this darling little apple of my eye.  He was wearing his shirt.  I repeat.  He was wearing his shirt...not his pants, not his underwear, but his shirt.  The lower half of his clothing lay on the ground beside the tree below him.  Nathaniel was squatting.  He wasn't just sitting there on the tree with his pants off, he had this look on his face.  It was the look of a child grunting and pushing.  He had climbed up the tree, taken off his clothes, and was sitting there pooping.

How often have I tried to get him to come inside to go to the bathroom?  How often have I tried to teach him that it's not acceptable to run around outside, or inside anymore, for that matter, without clothes on?  I sat there and wondered, what in the world is it going to take to get him to understand?

There was nothing I could do to change what had already happened.  I got up, and went to the window, tapped on the glass, and motioned for him to come inside.  He had the audacity to give me the biggest grin of his life and wave at me before slowly descending from the tree.  He finally worked his way down and headed around the back of the house where I assumed he was coming inside.  I waited.  And I waited.

After a few minutes, I determined that he had either disobeyed me or gotten sidetracked on his way in, so I started out after him.  When I got to the kitchen, I looked out on the back deck only to see him standing on the top of the wooden rail, happy as can be, and, save for his shirt, naked as a jail bird.  Did I mention his shirt was orange striped?  Go figure.

I tapped on the glass door and once again reminded him to come inside only to see the poop.  It was on his leg, on his bottom, and, yuck, on his hands.  We went directly to the bathroom where I promptly gave him a bath.  I turned on the water, put in the bath wash, and handed him his elephant loofah sponge.  I must say he was so pleased at his ability to bathe himself and clean himself off, and he did a wonderful job at it.

I really don't like looking out the window and finding him in that situation, and I really do wish he'd learn.  He does so well with his "please" and "thank you," but he has trouble with the social behavioral aspects of life.  I want him to be able to adjust to the proper way to act around others, even around members of his own family, so that he can have the respect of others.

Now, I know that not everyone sits around on tree limbs and poop on things, but we do have a habit of dropping our guard when we think nobody is looking.  We do not always act the way we should toward life.  We look around, examining our situation, and think, nobody's watching so I can do what I want without getting caught.  The only fault in that logic is that someone is always watching. 

I heard it said that one day, all the things that we do in secret, whether good or bad, will be brought to light, and we will be held accountable for our actions, and receive our just rewards for them.  We all have skeletons in the closet that need to be taken out and dumped.  We all have those things that nag at us which need to be ignored or nailed in a coffin so they can't rear their ugly heads.  We all have those temptations that would lead us astray.

The true nature of each of us is shown not in what we do when we think everyone is looking.  Our true nature is revealed in how we act in private, when we don't know that someone is looking, or rather, when we feel confident that nobody else is looking.  There is no parade, no known recourse for doing what is acceptable.

That is when we are at a true crossroad of life, and when we decide which turn we will take.  There is only the silent voice inside each of us that whispers what is that good and acceptable, and perfect thing to be done.  That is when who we truly are shines through, and when we heed that voice, that is when we know that we are willingly walking in the right.