She had about eight words and when she added a new one to her repertoire, one of the known words disappeared. It was as if her little brain could keep in working memory only eight or so words so she made the most of what she had. You can see how every word was precious and when she used "Howdy" to greet her friend Billy Reynolds each day on the little special needs school bus, he was quick to respond with "howdy". Billy was the son of Lynda's teacher Jan and drove the bus as a young man. He loved Lynda and it was mutual. She was the first passenger he picked up and the last to get off. Her seat was right behind his and there is no telling how many times she said "howdy" during the bus route but one thing I know for sure is that for every time she said it, he responded with "howdy". Billy was her first valentine.
There are not a lot of young men who fall in love with a special needs child but this one did. He was this big tough guy with a gentle spirit for Lynda. When she was six or seven, her class was going to the zoo in Memphis which was about an hour and a half from Oxford where we lived. I wasn't going to send her on the trip because I couldn't go. Billy asked for permission to take her and be responsible for her that day. Responsibility for a child who was as likely to try and climb into the cages with the animals as not or to break away from the group running at break neck speeds was not something to be taken lightly. When I saw how serious he was about wanting her to go, I allowed her to go. I have beautiful pictures of her sitting on a bench with a bright red balloon tied to her wrist and some with Billy standing beside her as she rode the merry-go-round grinning from ear to ear. He sat beside her at the picnic table at lunch. He spent the entire day beside this little blond streak of lightening and my heart was overflowing with gratitude that Lynda had a valentine all year long.
He babysat for her as is demonstrated in the picture here at a time when we didn't leave her with very many babysitters due to her seizures. Who would have ever dreamed this popular guy would chose to spend an evening with his seven year old valentine but he did repeatedly.
There came a time when Billy joined the Air Force and we have pictures of him telling his now twelve year old Valentine goodbye for a while. When he came home to Oxford to visit he always dropped by the house to say "howdy" to his first little valentine now with his wonderful wife, Donna whom he married, by the way on Valentine's Day. Billy is now Bill. The babysitter of my little special needs daughter is now a Full Bird Colonel in the United States Air Force. He made a career in the USAF and a career of helping others.
When Lynda passed away we wanted Billy to be able to participate from across the country so Russ arranged to skype with him during visitation. He was set up on one side of the visitation room and Kristopher who was in Denver was on the other side. I was so touched that the air force had allowed him to adjust his schedule to be a part of saying good-bye to his friend. I was touched that after all of these years, Lynda was still a large part of his heart.
The Billy Reynolds of this world who make a difference in the lives of special needs children and their families are a rare commodity. He was raised by a mama who loved special needs children with every fiber of her soul. Jan Reynolds was Lynda's teacher and my mentor. I owe so much to her. Raising her children to respect and love the weakest of God's creations is just another thing that she can add to her list of accomplishments.
This Valentine's Day and every one to come I think of Lynda and I thank God that she had a special valentine who loved her just like she was.
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