When a Barber Fulfilled His Promise to My Son With Autism and Me

Back in May, I wrote about my son Michael’s barber, Freddy. I had jokingly but sort of seriously said that I would fly Freddy back and forth from New Jersey to Virginia after we moved just to cut Michael’s hair, if I had unlimited funds. Freddy read that post, and it touched him. He made the amazing offer to me that when we moved, he would drive to Virginia to cut Michael’s hair. I was absolutely stunned and speechless at such an generous gesture.

Sometimes people say things they will do just as a kind gesture. Even if they never follow through, the fact that they offered is a lot to be thankful for. Freddy did follow through.

Freddy and his wife, Chaquira, made the trip from New Jersey to fulfill the promise he made to us. This was after he worked in his shop all day until 8:30 p.m. They left New Jersey at 9:30 p.m. They drove all night and arrived here in Virginia at 5 a.m. They slept for a few hours, and then he texted me saying he would be here when I wanted because his day was dedicated to us.

When they got here, my husband, Jason, gave them a tour of our new home. Then Freddy got down to business. Even though the venue changed and he was cutting Michael’s hair in my backyard, nothing else changed. There were lots of laughs. Michael made sure to remind Freddy to not cut his ears off. That is a reminder Freddy gets every time from Michael, from day one. And he sat, as he has from their first meeting, and let Freddy cut his hair.

Of course, no cut with Freddy would be complete without a spray paint of color. That is Michael’s favorite part, and Freddy didn’t disappoint. My daughter, Jordan, also got into the act this time as well. Orange hair for all!

Freddy said something a few weeks back on one of my Facebook posts that really hit home with me. Freddy, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m sharing it here.

He said:

“Some clients are clients, some clients become friends, some clients become family. I thank God I had the opportunity to meet Joan Leigh Flores and her family and gratefully consider them part of mine.”

Freddy, my friend, my family: I have said it before. No words can properly express my gratitude for what you have done. You are one of kind, you are generous, you are amazing and I am forever grateful that our paths crossed.

Follow this journey on This Ausome Family.

The Mighty is asking its readers the following: Describe a moment you gave or received a gift that touched your life in a special way. If you’d like to participate, please send a blog post to community@themighty.com. Please include a photo for the piece, a photo of yourself and 1-2 sentence bio. Check out our Share Your Story page for more about our submission guidelines.