I can't believe it's been 8 months since Micah joined our family... plus 11 days!!! Hannah and Brandon are such great older siblings, and they love their baby brother so much.
Today was the first real Spring day... temps around 70, sunny skies, the perfect breeze for sailing and kites and the playground. (Not that we have a sailboat, but seeing the open sails on the water reminded me of my teenage years with my family.)
Our milestone of the day was that it was finally warm enough to let Micah try out the baby swing at the park. He LOVED it. He sat back and relaxed, and watched Hannah as she soared high above him on the big kid swing a couple of spots over. I forgot to put my memory card into my camera before I left the house, so I texted a pic of his smile to our closest family members. Hannah and Brandon learned quickly that gentle pushes are required with the littlest family member.
While I fed Micah his bottle, Hannah came down and told me about one of the boys who was sitting on the play equipment. I don't remember exactly what she said about him, but the gist of it was that she thought he was strange. She said he was making strange noises and waving his arms funny. I looked up at him, and even though I could not see his face, his posture and mannerisms and noises made me wonder about what made him special. I explained to Hannah that God makes each of us different, and even though they may seem strange, we need to be kind and help those we do not understand.
A couple of minutes later, the boy's father approached to call him down from his perch. I let my curiousity speak, and asked him straightforward if he had Down's Syndrome, and the dad confirmed that he did. I asked how old he was, and he mentioned that he was turning 11 and his party will be tomorrow. I told him that my daughter was curious about his differences (she had since gone back to play on the equipment.) The boy came down and joined has father, taking his hand, and Hannah came back toward us. "I hope you have a great birthday!" His Dad said thank you for him as his face lit up. He gently prompted his son to say, "Good bye."
As a Mom, I like to hope that I did the right thing, and I think I did. I like to think I would rather have a stranger inquire about my child's needs and show genuine concern rather than exchange awkward glances and shuffle away. I hope that exchanges like this will gradually show Hannah that everyone deserves to be loved and respected, even if things we don't understand make us uncomfortable. She had pointed out that a friend who was also at the park thought the boys' noises were scary. I told her that it's normal to be a little afraid of things we are not used to, but that was just how he was able to express himself. When your kids do not have the same special needs as another, it is so easy to look at the things the other child can't do. If I were that parent, I would want to focus on the things my child could do, especially the things that I may have been told would not be possible when they were born 11 years earlier.
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