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Getting Worse
He became more reluctant to be apart from his mom or dad. He stopped attending birthday parties and refused to go to school. This meant that Janice could no longer go to her office. She tried to work from home, but there were times when Michael broke keys on the computer, turned it off at whim and hovered over her, sabotaging her business calls. Until her husband came home from work, there was little respite.Everyone had a different idea about how to handle Michael. Well-meaning friends and relatives accused Janice and Michael Sr. of being either too strict or too lenient. “Michael’s just spoiled and needs a good spanking,” said one of them. Although Janice was a confident mother, she began to question her parenting skills. The Bonises knew something was different about their son, but they reassured each other that he would outgrow it.
One place where Michael excelled was the baseball field. From the age of five, he was always the first one to show up for Little League games. He would eagerly suit up in his royal blue T-shirt and white baseball pants to warm up with his father, a volunteer coach. A standout athlete, Michael played shortstop and pitcher, and when he was on the mound, everyone was confident he would strike out the other team.
On the last day of second grade, when Michael was seven, his team had made it through the semifinals. Janice was packing a cooler for the championship game that evening when Michael’s scream came out of the blue. “I’m not going,” he bellowed.
“Michael, your team needs you,” said his mother, who couldn’t imagine what had gotten into him.
“I’m not going,” he repeated, his dark eyes welling with tears. His father and mother begged, cajoled and tried to reason with their son. The more they coaxed him, the more defiant he became. When they threatened to go without him, Michael ran in circles around the front lawn, then dashed up and down the street. Finally he returned, banging furiously on the car window.
When Janice opened the passenger door, he hopped in without hesitation. “It was like a switch had turned off,” she says. They arrived at the field 15 minutes before the game. Michael warmed up and went on to get three hits and pitch four shutout innings. He helped his team win the game, after which his excited teammates piled on top of him. His parents savored the moment and beamed with pride. But that evening, Janice replayed the incident in her mind and felt bewildered.
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