Welcome Springtime. Layla's coming up to a year old. Her capacity, at a 4 to 5 month old. In many ways she has bloomed; a natural response to our nurturing weather over the past few weeks. We've been making sure that she is well watered and getting plenty of sun.
I've been thinking a lot this past week about this excitement that I feel over where my life is headed; the world of disability. The parents that I will meet and the stories that I'm going to share. But, right now I've enjoyed the not knowing - the "my space" versus the world space and the language of disability that I just don't even know of yet. But I will. I want to. There is so much to discover. That world is for me. It is not so foreign,
John Travolta's son past away after a seizure episode. I clearly remember thinking why do these celebrities "hide" their disabled children. That they must feel ashamed of them, somehow their "different" children must stifle their image. Why bring them to the forefront. We used to hear of his daughter enough. Well I suppose this is all part of the greater P.R. plan.
Now.
Maybe he was protecting his child. Hyper protecting. I won't move forward advertising Layla's life to everyone who looks at her quizzingly. And they may do that. As she gets older, month by month, her age to development gap is getting greater. It will, I know. She will be noticed, not for her slick moves on the soccer field, or for her sweet camera ready smile when there is photo opportunity. Nope, that is her sisters. People will look at Layla and wonder. And I will protect her innocence and her inability to be "normal". Her differences won't make obvious sense and will make her noticable. I want to shelter her from the thoughts. I think I get the silence now. I'm no celebrity, I just have a special child with needs that you have to live with and cope with in order to understand. It's all about protecting the rights that they aren't even aware that they have.
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