Not everything can go perfectly according to plan all the time. Sometimes you think you are about to be in for a good time, and then a curveball comes to throw everything off its axis.
Baiz Weerts was looking forward to going to the mall and meeting Santa for the first time ever, but he didn’t predict that he would soon be too afraid to approach the red suited-man.
Let’s back up for a second though. Baiz is an 8-year-old boy from Illinois who has been wanting to meet Santa ever since he was 2. Fear is what has always held him back from doing that, but this year was going to be his year.
Baiz has autism as well as an anxiety disorder called selective mutism.
This means that Baiz can usually speak up at home with no problem. It is when he goes out and is put in a social situation, that he gets anxious and fearful.
The son’s mother, Sheila Seelye explained the situation further: “Baiz asks to go to the mall almost every weekend. He’s like ‘I’m gonna do it this time!’ But as soon as we get there, he freezes. So, we sit and watch from afar while he works through his feelings.”
This time was much different though when their mother took them to Gurnee Mills Shopping Center the weekend before Thanksgiving because Baiz’s twin sister, Layna, was ready to meet Santa.
Layna ran up to Santa with no problem. Baiz, thinking he was ready, suddenly felt that he was not. Instead of following along with his sister, he sat back in a shopping cart and began to cry out of pure frustration. He thought that time was going to be different but he once again recoiled. He couldn’t help it. He had been working on it for six years.
It does not end there though.
Santa noticed all of this go down so after he met Layna, he got up and made his way over to Baiz.
Saint Nicholas did all the best things he could have done to calm the little boy down. He stroked his hair, gave him a sticker, and told him that everything was just fine. Baiz’s mother stood to the side and watched, absolutely touched at the whole exchange.
“He kept telling him, ‘You’re OK buddy. You’re gonna be OK,’” Sheila shared. It was exactly what her son needed during that time and it totally worked.
“He knew just what Baiz needed in that moment. I’ve never seen him so happy.”
Later on in the day, he told his mother, “I believe that was the real Santa mommy, I feel it in my soul.”
The day might have started out really rough for Baiz, but Santa definitely made a huge difference. He finally fulfilled his six-year-long dream of meeting the famous Santa Claus and, despite his fear, finally learned that nothing bad was going to happen. He faced his fears!
We hope Baiz will continue to go back and meet Santa every year from here on out now. Watch the full clip of the moment below.
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