Recently my ten year old was asked, “what makes your family different but also unique?” What do you think his answer was? I bet you’re wrong ;-)
He thought for a while and then replied, “my family is pretty crazy.”
We were all expecting the obvious answer - that his mom is in a wheelchair. Although the ‘crazy’ might be obvious to some people as well. Fine, it’s obvious to most people around us but that still wasn’t the answer anyone thought would come out of his mouth.
It’s funny when I talk about how I see myself to really have it stated that not everyone views me that same way. Certainly not my family. I NEED to be reminded of that occasionally. We as humans have a way of seeing the negative aspects of ourselves when others barely even notice. Or maybe they do notice, but they don't focus on them or pay nearly as much attention to them as we do.
It’s not that my children aren’t aware that I’m different, they just don’t technically ‘see’ me that way. In their eyes I am just like every other mom - just way meaner because I ‘don’t let them do anything, ever!’ or whatever the gripe of the day is.
They do tend to notice more when it comes to activities. Like when my son says things like, “I wish you could come walk on the beach with us.” Me too, buddy, Me too. Or “when are you going to walk again? I want you to walk.” It’s heartbreaking to hear but seconds later they’re onto something new and the statement is forgotten. By them. Depending on my mood I might obsess over it relentlessly or just forget it. I’m full of surprises so you never know :-)
Oddly enough, my younger son is the one who will typically make comments. My older one rarely ever did. I don’t know enough about psychology to understand why, but I’m sure it’s a personality thing. Either way, it sucks to hear but it’s good to know that it’s really no big deal to them either way.
I’m sure on some level it bothers them at times, but for the most part they could care less. They never treat me different than any other moms I know are treated. They love me. they hate me. They think I’m the coolest or the most embarrassing. None of it has to do with my physical appearance though.
It’s just nice to know that regardless of the hows and whys and whatever mistakes I make as a parent, my children will have this amazing ability to see people for who they are, not what they look like. They learned from birth that physical appearances don’t mean anything. Their mom is capable of almost anything - just like anyone else.
I would love to take full credit for raising them that way, but it’s just the way it is in our family and that is an incredible life lesson that they will bring into adulthood. #family #crazy #kids #momlife #adulting #growingup #unique #special
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