Imagine Dragons Love
Tuesday afternoon I unpacked J’s backpack and I found a newspaper article folded up carefully, tucked inside the side pocket.
The article had no note or explanation–no indication who it was from. But it was apparent that whoever tucked it into J’s backpack knew J very well:
The backpack article wasn’t the first notice of the new Imagine Dragons album. One of J’s XC coaches was talking to him about the new album when I picked him up after school and the look on J’s face when Coach L told J the news was priceless–in fact, I wasn’t quite sure if J really believed him. The new album came out November 9, and somehow we had missed that!
J loves–LOVES–Imagine Dragons and I think everyone at his high school must know that. I know for sure his XC team knows it. I’ve had a few kids tell me that they love to play J’s favourite song “Believer” on the XC bus for him. I’ve seen his teammates try to talk to J about Imagine Dragons (even if he’s not the best conversationalist) and I love that they try to connect with him over it.
J’s love for all things Imagine Dragons started back in middle school, and it was about the exact same time of year when we found another Imagine Dragons surprise in J’s backpack. J’s PE teacher Mr. F had wrapped up an Imagine Dragons CD for J for Christmas because he saw how much J loved the songs when he played them during PE. J was thrilled. I might have bawled. J has always struggled with PE because the sounds in the gym can be really overwhelming to him. For some reason Imagine Dragons made going to gym a better experience for him and his teacher Mr. F saw that. I was really touched by his efforts to connect with J.
As I made dinner Tuesday night, I played the new album playlist on YouTube and J walked into the kitchen periodically and asked, “What song is this? Who sings this song?” When I replied, “Imagine Dragons,” he smiled to himself and walked out of the kitchen again. That’s how I knew the idea of “New Imagine Dragons” was warming up to him. J’s not a big fan of new or different. It doesn’t matter how much J loves something–new or different can evoke anxiety and even a meltdown. It’s actually why Christmas mornings have been so hard over the years. You could get J the perfect present for Christmas and he still would be stressed out by it. Because it’s new and unexpected and he doesn’t know how to process that. Even good surprises are often bad surprises.
But J seemed satisfied with the new playlist, stopping in for a minute to listen to a song, then stepping out again. Testing the waters of the new album. I get his methods. I do the same thing too when my favourite band comes out with a new album. I kind of skip through the songs to get a feel for the sound before I really dive in. It helps me get through the idea of “new” and appreciate it a little better.
So thank you to the anonymous person who thoughtfully planted the article announcing the new Imagine Dragons album in J’s backpack. Thank you Coach L for finding J after school to talk to him about it that day. Thank you to the XC kids who play Imagine Dragons on the bus for J and thank you to the PE teacher in middle school who gave J such a thoughtful gift years ago. As always, we really appreciate everyone who looks for ways to connect with J!
(And as a fun little flash back, you can read all about the time we drove J to see Imagine Dragons in Winnipeg here three years ago–the very first blog post!).
