These are the moments in life that you will never forget,
for better, or for worse. Elijah turned two years old last week. This is such
an exciting time for him and for us. We have been looking forward to the day he
turns two for the obvious reasons, but also because when he turns two, he is
old enough to attend Noah’s preschool. Noah has been talking about this for
months. Noah is so excited to have his baby brother at his school. Elijah adores
his big brother and both Dion and I believe that Elijah will be much happier at
school if his brother is there.
That having been said, having Elijah attend Noah’s school
was easier said than done. I forget that people, not all people, are scared of
little boys like Elijah. I guess I am so used to him that I forget that people
may not be as inclined to work with a child like Elijah. That they may fear him
simply because he is not like everyone else. That they see the scare down his
chest as a sign of weakness, not a battle scar that should be warn proudly.
They lack understanding, and instead of asking for the knowledge in order to
understand, they judge and make up excuses. I forget these things sometimes and
when they are shoved in my face I am so shocked, and hurt, that I retreat.
While I was fully prepared to get on this blog and blast the
woman who made our lives that much harder last week, I am taking a different
path. I am trying to be empathetic and understanding that this person who
caused my family heartache is from a different generation and she acted out of
fear. I need to learn to speak out and be aggressive in situations like this. I
was so blindsided and I allowed myself to get run over. I didn’t speak out
until it was almost to late. I need to know that this will happen again and
that it is my duty, my charge, to be Elijah’s voice and to teach him that it is
okay to have a voice himself. So instead of blasting a poor older woman who
really just doesn’t know better, I am going to take this as a learning lesson. I
am going to be the voice for my child.
