The time has come for another First First for my family. A big First First. My first born will be starting a new adventure of Preschool next week & he couldn’t be more excited. He’s my social butterfly. He can shoot the bull with the best of them & is always interested in making a new friend or two or an entire classroom. He’s always the first in line to learn something new & his kindness is contagious. And I love that he is so excited for his next adventure, but I hate how I am not on his same level of happiness. Of course I am happy that he’s so interested in learning & I am proud that he is so brave to head into the school alone but I am also worried. And I’m talking beyond the normal worries & fears that any parent has when sending any one of their babies off to school. Beyond the fear of them hopefully remembering that it’s ok to stop playing long enough to hit the potty or if they will have an accident involving ketchup and a white something. All valid worries. But I am worried about the stares he may receive because his mom has one leg. Worried about the questions he will be asked because his mom has one leg. But then I had a friend tell me if I don’t make it a big deal then he won’t make it big deal and in return, his new friends won’t make it a big deal either. And I find that to be excellent advice.

My kids are being raised to know that being different is not a big deal. I mean don’t get this statement confused by thinking that I don’t think that the thing that makes you stand out is not a big deal, because it 100% does. Embracing your skin color or your bump in the Road or your talents is amazing. But I am saying that just because you look different from someone else on the outside doesn’t mean our insides aren’t the same. Good people come in all shapes, sizes, skin colors, & abilities. And if we teach our kids that different should not be part of the equation when we are figuring out how to make friends, then maybe how the next generation sees disabilities & skin color & ethnicities will be a step in the right direction. Because it won’t be a big deal to them. It won’t matter if the kid sitting next to them in class is in a wheelchair. Because that kid makes his friends laugh every single day & he never thinks he can’t do anything despite his situation. So why wouldn’t they ask him to play basketball? It won’t matter that the little girl in the next class room over has black skin while you have white. Your child is still going to ask them to come to their birthday party because they are fun & they are kind. Skin color isn’t going to change the way that ice cream cake tastes. And if we start shifting the world into realizing that the packaging doesn’t make the product, but rather what’s on the inside does, could you imagine how much better our world would be? A dented Captain Crunch cereal box doesn’t mean that the cereal tastes like crap. And that same concept should be applied to the human race & all its glory. To all of our differences. Because it’s not a big deal.

As parents we are going to worry. It’s part of the gig. But we need to give our kids a little more credit. They aren’t trying to be rude or mean when they begin to stare at someone else who looks different than them. They aren’t being unkind because they asked you why that lady has one leg. It’s highly likely that they are just taking it all in. They are trying to figure it out. So be sure to let them ask the questions so they know it’s not a big deal. Let them look. Don’t shush them. Encourage them to ask why instead of scooting them along. Because once they see that the person they are staring at is ok with their situation & are just like them or their mom, it helps make it not a big deal to them either. So while my first born is about ready to head off to learn & make new friends, I will learn to remind myself that it’s only as big as deal to them as I make it. That Jake will be just fine & he will still makes lots of friends. Friends that probably won’t even care that his mom has one leg. In fact they will probably think it’s cool that his mom has a robot leg. So I’ll let that calm my heart as I watch him take this next step in his life. And I know that’ll be enough.

Good luck to all the parents, kids, siblings, teachers, faculty, school bus drivers, lunch ladies, hall monitors, principals, secretaries, & teachers aids. May your school year be the biggest & brightest yet!

#TheOneLeggedMommy #BackToSchool #FirstFirst #AmputeeMom #HipDisarticulation #BeKind #BestYearYet #NecrotizingFasciitis #ImNotCrying #YoureCrying #GoodLuck