Christmas Tree Worker “Saves Christmas” For Mom And Son With Autism

Anyone who has kids knows how difficult it can be to complete simple tasks like going to the grocery store or running some errands. Even things that should be fun, like picking out a Christmas tree, can quickly turn into an ordeal with fighting, meltdowns, and more.

Add some type of neurodivergence to the mix, and things become even more interesting. Julie Watts knows this all too well since she has a young son with autism.

Julie explained on Facebook that she wanted to take her son, Bently, to pick out a Christmas tree but things didn’t go according to plan.

They were supposed to go to Roehler’s Tree Farm in Centerville, Indiana and grab a pre-cut tree before getting a quick bite to eat and heading home.

Julie explained, “I took my son there for (what I thought was going to be) a ‘quick purchase’ from their pre-cut trees (already cut, drilled, & on stands in their barn).. Well, as any parent of a child with autism will tell you, ‘plans-schmans’…”

Apparently, Ben’s expectations of picking out a Christmas tree were much different than what Julie had in mind. You see, he thought they would “wander the fields admiring & comparing trees, then finally choose the premier tree to which a man with a saw would come teetering out of the woods and cut it down… Then we’d hoist it on our backs so heftily and march in from the field covered in sawdust and sweat, tying it to the top of our car with pride and driving home whilst singing carols…”

Julie liked her plan better and wanted to stick with it, but Ben wasn’t thrilled with the idea of getting a pre-cut tree. Julie said in the post, “We were starving, in a hurry, it was muddy and starting to rain again, and the sun was setting in 30 seconds, & I had a migraine. I was very ok with his plan not happening, but he was not.”

When Ben realized they weren’t going to cut a tree down, he had a “meltdown” so Julie packed him into the car to drive home without a tree. But then, a man named Kevin stopped her.

With Ben out of earshot, Kevin offered to help the tired mom get the tree that she wanted without Ben throwing a fit. Julie said, “that man stunned me forever and saved everything.. he offered to pick that [pre-cut] tree up, carry it on his back all the way out thru the muddy fields and stand it up in a row.. Then my son & I could ‘happen upon it’, pick it, and he would ‘fake cut it down’ and haul it back for us.. Everyone’s a Winner!!”

Julie said Kevin “completely saved our Christmas tonight,” and that’s a beautiful thing.