Today I took Wes to Walmart. A few minutes into our browsing we passed a Walmart associate who said, “Oh! What a doll!” (She meant Wes.)

I smiled thanks and we kept on going. Not a minute later we passed another associate who looked at Wes and said, “LOOK at that cutie!”

So two people said something nice about Wes. Not totally unusual. Then we hit the produce section and a young lady looked at Wes and said, “He is so cute. Just adorable.”

And then I started wondering why he was raking in the compliments. Was it his haircut? I just trimmed his hair on Sunday but believe me, it’s not a good cut. At least it’s shorter, and that’s all that counts. In fact when I took him to playgroup on Tuesday a couple of people remarked about his haircut and said, “He looks like such a little boy!” (which is code for, “His haircut is crooked!”).

Um, yeah. Here’s the proof.

So just as I was thinking about this, while still in the produce section, a fourth person–a guy this time–comes whooshing by, obviously on his way to the checkstand. “You have a beautiful boy there. I hope you know that.” I stuttered out “thanks” as he waved and wished us a happy holiday.

We continued our shopping. I still didn’t know what brought on the attention. Especially considering it was 8 a.m.–not really Walmart’s busiest time. Wes probably received compliments from about 5% of the Walmart population.

As we passed the frozen food aisle on our way to the checkstand to pay, we were stopped by an entire family: a grandpa wearing a BYU hat, his daughter, and her three daughters. They wanted to visit with Wes.

I got Wes to wave hello, and they asked how he’s doing. Not really sure what they wanted to know, I told them that he’s doing great–walking, running, into everything. Then the mom told me that she has two siblings with Down syndrome. Both were adopted and are now in their late twenties.

We made small talk for a minute, and then the grandpa looked me in the eye and said, “You have a very special boy here. I hope you know that.”

I think I do. But if I forget, I get occasional reminders.