A typical saturday night in the Friedman house is dinner  & a movie. However, tonight’s was a bit different. We usually wait to watch the movie until after Landon is in bed. Tonight we decided it was a family movie night. We made our ice cream sundaes and headed downstairs. Landon chose Frankenweenie. I less not amused with his choice, but it as his choice nonetheless.

We start watching and it already has a dark kinda somber tone to it. But then again, doesn’t all TiM Burton movies have that? When we were prerusing movies to watch, we told Landon what each movie was about. We wanted him to have an idea on what each movie was about before he made his final decision. We told him that “Sparky”, the dog in the movie dies. We were surprised when he knowing this movie because he has been having a hard time dealing with anyone getting hurt in a movie.

The movie continues, and you can tell Sparky is about to get hit by a car. typical scene where the dog runs after the baseball thinking its time to play fetch. So, it happens. Sparky dies. Landon doesn’t cry. We stare at him in amazement. Two months ago, he would have flipped out. Screaming, crying, yelling and more. But nothing. We have been trying to teach him that movies usually have have a slow beginning, a sad middle and happy ending. I think he understood that something as going to come out of what he just saw.

When Victor, (the boy who owned the dog) go to bed, he just stared at the wall. As an adult, you realize it’s because he can’t get his dog off his mind. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my brandy new 5 year old would understand that concept from only body language. But he did. He said to us, ” Mommy, he is sad. He can’t stop thinking about his dog. He loved him”. “Yes Landon, you are right”, we replied.

But what came next was even more unexpected then seeing Landon make the connection of Victors emotions. It made me & my husband tear up, wipe our faces with our shirts and grab each others hands and squeeze. Landon says, ” he loved his dog so much that he can’t stop thinking of him just like I love and miss Elanna everyday.  I always have Elanna in my heart”. For those who don’t know about Elanna, she was our niece who passed away at 16 in a car accident while a friend was driving. It was a shock to our family and still is.

In that moment, while watching a Tim Burton movie, we realized just how emotionally connected our son is. For those who know us, you know that Landon feels his emotions tenfold. He sometimes has such an influx of emotions he can’t express them properly due to his sensory challenges.  I don’t think we ever will know what Elanna & him shared. but I know whatever it was, she touched him in a way I didn’t think possible due to their  unfortunate short 3 year relationship.

So, when it really matters, when it comes to matters of the heart, he knows How he feels and what to say. He just amazes us everyday.