Friday, July 19, 2013

It makes me embarrassed

It makes me embarrassed. This is what my little girl said to me today when we noticed the obvious stares that were coming from about five elementary day-campers. We both noticed and Madeleine put her hands on her hips and stared back. She then put up her hands as if to say, 'what?!'.
I asked her if her bothered her or made her feel bad when kids stared. She said no, it just makes me embarrassed.

God, can you imagine going through life embarrassed about the way you look or some aspect of yourself? Sure, we all think that we may look not so good some days; maybe a bad hair day, a little bloated, extra acne etc.  But my daughter feels this on most days. Particularly in novel situations.

This week we are headed to camp. We had so many generous donations that it made it possible for Max, Madeleine and me to go to Idaho. The kids are really excited about this. I wonder if it is because they get to run around a very safe little island in the middle of Coeur D'Alene. Perhaps it is all the activities: swimming, slip n slides, wheelchair basketball, s'mores around the camp fire....?
My hunch is that Madeleine can be herself and not embarrassed. She won't get weird looks and ugly stares. She will have many questions asked about her leg but they will be out of camaraderie ("what happened to your leg?" or "can you wiggle the bottom?") and not because they think it is 'creepy', 'weird' or 'gross'.

Thank you friends for your support, financial donations and friendships.

Lots of Love,
Niki, Max and Madeleine

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