I’m a beverage server at a casino that rocks in the Midwest, and have only been there a month or so.

There’s a guy who is mentally impaired and barely verbal who tracks me down every Friday (I’m easy to spot,) and I’ve picked up on what he wants (water and a juice mix with cherries.)

He doesn’t want a hi-five when he holds his hand up, but what I’ve figured out is a sort of handshake that’s repeated 7 times with certain fingers interlocked.

Tonight I was serving a regular, and asked her to give me a few minutes while I interacted with him, led him back to his mom and grandma in an entirely different part of the casino with his water and juice and made sure he was ok.

I came back to my regular (hey Michelle!) and turns out her brother is is in a similar situation and she thanked me. I bought her a drink, gave her a hug, and that interaction kept me going for the next 8 hours.

All it takes sometimes is to listen even without words, be patient, and understand we all have our battles.

Be kind to one another, try to understand that needing to be seen is not always about what you hear or see, and acknowledge gratitude in its many forms.

And yeah, he always gets extra cherries in his drink. 🤗💕

Give love, patience and happiness. It comes back in the most unexpected ways.

I'm not sure why he zeroed in on me. I’m new there, but stand out due to my height. Maybe that’s it? Not sure. But I love the hug from Grandma when I walk him back to them.