So yesterday our oldest son did something pretty humiliating at school. Of course, when he did it, he didn't think it was humiliating, he thought it was funny. See, our oldest son isn't quite like our other boys. He has Down Syndrome. Now, in the 11 years that we have been his parents, we have learned a tremendous deal. In fact, he has been our teacher. He has opened our eyes to ignorance and disrespect. However, in the back of my head, there remains this fear for him. This fear that as he gets older, kids will pick on him or be cruel to him. Yet, I have been pleasantly surprised at how great kids have actually been with him. In fact, I think I've come across more disrespectful adults than I have children. So, that fear in my mind has been somewhat at ease. Our son has a following, for whatever reason .....kids seem to genuinely like him.
However, yesterday all my fears came rushing back. I received an email from his teacher informing me of the incident at school. I was mortified. There were so many thoughts that went running through my head. For instance, what does that say about me? Does this make me out to be the mother who doesn't teach her children to know better? But my biggest concern was our son and his following. What would kids think about him now? Would they see him the same? Or would they now start to tease him? Unfortunately, a day later those fears are still there. But at the same time, I realize whats done is done. There is no going back and erasing yesterday. Our son seems to be ok with what happened and even the consequences he faced at school. So perhaps this is another lesson he is trying to teach me. Let go of the past, brush it off, do whatever you need to do to accept it and move on, Life is too short I guess to focus on the things we cannot change.
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