Catch
We went to the pool this evening after picking up Dane from camp. We needed a cool off and some play time.
There is a family who goes to our pool with a daughter in her 20's who has what I suspect is cerebral palsy. She has a typical jerky gait and I wonder how she manages flip flops so well without tripping. She does not speak but I think uses sign language with her family.
Dane and I were playing catch near her, working our way from shallow to deep and back and forth. The ball landed near her and she threw it back to Dane. It looks like a considerable effort for her to throw with her spastic and constant movement. A long wind up with considerable concentration, but she did. And Dane waited for her to throw to him and he threw back to her. Her smile and laugh at receiving a response was wonderful. And my wonderful son continued the game with her. He included some dives and dunks to make her laugh more. She imitated some of his dunks and dives. He went off to do a few laps on his own while I continued to play catch with her then he came back to join in again. He discovered that splashing me got a real laugh from her so we had a splash fight for a while with a happy laughing audience of one.
I will note that there was a group of kids, ages in the 4-10 category, with some adults nearby and playing through who gave the sideways glance or two but none joined in.
Her father was laughing while he watched us play. Her parents thanked me when they left. It made me sad to think that you feel you need to thank someone for playing catch with your child. Is it that people think it is polite to ignore those who are differently abled/disabled? I guess it may not be often that disabled children, especially adult children, receive positive attention.
I told Dane how proud I am of him that he played with someone who is different who no one else was playing with. He told me, "I know," but not in that iknoweverything kind of way. He told me he had fun and of a fellow student in another class at his school who is also "different." His moment of maturity and compassion makes me teary.
I hope this experience sticks with him. And I hope we see the smiling woman again.
There is a family who goes to our pool with a daughter in her 20's who has what I suspect is cerebral palsy. She has a typical jerky gait and I wonder how she manages flip flops so well without tripping. She does not speak but I think uses sign language with her family.
Dane and I were playing catch near her, working our way from shallow to deep and back and forth. The ball landed near her and she threw it back to Dane. It looks like a considerable effort for her to throw with her spastic and constant movement. A long wind up with considerable concentration, but she did. And Dane waited for her to throw to him and he threw back to her. Her smile and laugh at receiving a response was wonderful. And my wonderful son continued the game with her. He included some dives and dunks to make her laugh more. She imitated some of his dunks and dives. He went off to do a few laps on his own while I continued to play catch with her then he came back to join in again. He discovered that splashing me got a real laugh from her so we had a splash fight for a while with a happy laughing audience of one.
I will note that there was a group of kids, ages in the 4-10 category, with some adults nearby and playing through who gave the sideways glance or two but none joined in.
Her father was laughing while he watched us play. Her parents thanked me when they left. It made me sad to think that you feel you need to thank someone for playing catch with your child. Is it that people think it is polite to ignore those who are differently abled/disabled? I guess it may not be often that disabled children, especially adult children, receive positive attention.
I told Dane how proud I am of him that he played with someone who is different who no one else was playing with. He told me, "I know," but not in that iknoweverything kind of way. He told me he had fun and of a fellow student in another class at his school who is also "different." His moment of maturity and compassion makes me teary.
I hope this experience sticks with him. And I hope we see the smiling woman again.