Filtering by Tag: kids
While we are out and about sometimes people lovingly stare and sometimes their eyes meet his and they quickly glance away. Every once in awhile someone will say, "Oh, I hear they are so happy." or "My son has a kid in his class with Down syndrome and he's so sweet or joyful."
Can I just say, I hate this language, and let me tell you why...
Well, here we are once again. A week out from the day cupid decides our fate. He loves me. She loves me not. Husbands are frantically trying to make dinner reservations (hubbies, if you're not, that was your cue), wives are looking for something cute to wear - or if you're a mom, something CLEAN to wear. And the teachers - well the teachers are trying to figure out just where in their day they can squeeze the almighty valentine exchange that takes place among the kids, and inevitably leads to someone in tears.
Yes. It's true. You remember being in third grade and having a crush on the cutest girl or boy in class, only to have your heart pulverized when all they did was sign their name to the back of their Care Bears valnetine. We had thoughts like "That's it?? Just a name?? No heart? No smiley face?? No L-O-V-E???" And then we usually did this:
Via Giphy.com
Oh - so what...you never did that? Just me? Ok - that's cool. I'll take the hit on this one. It's cool.
But in all seriousness, as a kid, for some reason we placed an exorbitant amount of importance on Valentine's Day. As I listen to my daughter's friends as they chat about crushes, I realize not much has changed, so I'm going to make a small request (if you have time this year). When your kiddo is filling out this year's confections of affection, maybe instead of just signing their name, you can have them write ONE THING they like about each student in their class. And THEN sign their name.
I realize this seems hokey, but here's the thing - many, many, MANY schools across the country are still not inclusive in nature - so children with special needs are separated, or only with their classmates for short bursts of time - usually during electives. Because they don't get much time with their actual peers, they miss out on the friendships, bonds, and relationships that are formed by being together. Friendships aren't as strong as they could be, nuances are not learned or understood - kids lose out on the opportunity to be kids together. But maybe ...just maaaayyyybeeeee this small act of writing one thing they like about their classmates will encourage them to get to know the kid in class who fidgets a lot, or the kiddo who struggles with reading...the boy with the blue glasses, or the girl with the hot pink wheelchair.
I mean, it's el dia de amor....we should at least be inclusive with our amor.
Sometimes when I'm out with Emory we meet new people. Emory does *not* have Stranger Danger down yet. No matter how many times I say "No honey, we don't know that creepy guy standing behind us in the Target line", she can't help but wave and smile and ask for a fist bump.
We also tend to get that doting sweet grandma who gushes all over her, and inevitably touches my arm and says something like "Bless your heart mama, it must be so hard." I usually smile and laugh and make a quip about having a full bar for a reason - but that's just my humor acting as my muzzle. I mean, I do have a full bar at home, but in all fairness, I also have a teenager at home, so that full bar *might* be more for the teenager than the 8 year old. Just keeping it real, folks. But here's the REAL real: Special needs parents are just like regular parents (for the most part). I know - I KNOW! Crazy right?
Sometimes our kids do this:
The old scream, shake and fist pump routine
And sometimes this behavior is directly related to their disability. But sometimes they're just....exerting their right to act their age. However, as a parent, we, like you, go through a series of thoughts before we react. They usually go like this:
Who is this child?
Are you serious right now?
Lord Jesus help me....
And then finally, after many deep, deep breaths (that some might confuse for hyperventilating), we arrive here....
or here....
And really, either is ok because PARENTING IS HARD - kid with special needs or not. So bless all our hearts moms and dads....Bless ALL our hearts. I raise a glass to all of us.
No really, I do.
Look.
Okay. I didn't *really* do that. But I do salute all of us in the parenting game. We got this.
