ABSTRACT
In the opening pages of Lift as We Know It, I wrote that most of my time with Jamie – that is, when I’m actually with him, doing stuff – is lived pretty much moment by moment. And I wrote this specific passage just under ten years ago:
Occasionally it will occur to Janet or to me that Jamie will always be” disabled,” that his adult and adolescent years will undoubtedly be more difficult emotionally – for him and for us – than his early childhood, that we will never not worry about his future, his quality of life, whether we’re doing enough for him. But usually these moments occur in the relative comfort of abstraction, when Janet and I are lying in bed at night and wondering what will become of us all. When I’m with Jamie, by contrast, I’m almost always fully occupied by taking care ofhis present needs rather than by worrying about his future. When he asks to hear the Beatles because he loves their cover of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” I just play the song, sing along, and watch him dance with delight; I do not concern myself with extraneous questions such as whether he’ll ever distinguish early Beades from late Beatles, Paul’s songs from John’s, originals from covers. These questions are now central to Nick’s enjoyment of the Beatles, but that’s Nick for you. Jamie is entirely sui generis, and as long as I’m with him I can’t think of him as anything but Jamie. (xi)
