humbled

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Dirt and Kiki have a severely—indeed, excruciatingly—autistic daughter. It is no overstatement to call her feral. Think Helen Keller. She cannot converse, nor understand, nor conceive of danger. She does not acknowledge other people. At nine, she is not toilet trained and she often has hysterical meltdowns in public, causing well-meaning strangers to call the police on my friends on several occasions—out of fear that the child was being abused when, in fact, she was simply not being allowed to sprint into traffic.

We were discussing their lives, and Dirt talked about how much he hates his job. "But having the kid changed my perspective forever. She centered me," he said, puffing on a cigar thoughtfully. "I am humbled."

Wow, I thought. That's easily the most sensitive thing this guy has ever sa—

"I am totally humbled. I surrender. That kid fuckin' eviscerated my pride. It's shredded and mangled. I have no dignity left. None. She humiliates me on a daily basis. Going to work is my vacation."

It's healthy in its way.