The power of the web
I’m so honored to be Jordan and Cameron’s mom. They teach me so much… and I feel really lucky to have this website (and the boy’s website) to share my thoughts and experiences. Recently I’ve had a chance to talk to a few people who met me through this blog… And I can’t explain how wonderful it feels to know that my words and show other moms and dads that a limb difference is not the end of the world. It’s scary at first, but our kids know no other life. They are happy, strong and able… And our culture needs to know that too.
The biggest question I get these days: How did I get over the worries I had about people who stare? To put it simply… I stopped looking for people who stare. I stopped worrying what other people think about my family. I spend more time focusing on my family when we’re out in public. Here are a couple of posts when I talked about staring in 2007: One about subtle staring and one about how our life has changed and how I tend to stare when I see others with limb differences.
By the way – that picture if of Jordan talking about her love of strawberries with me before a little awards ceremony I was attending. Jordan loves being the center of attention… and it was one of those situations where we were in a room full of people Jordan and I never met. And we didn’t care. Jordan loved talking to everyone and eating all of the food at the event. Regular stuff. That’s the greatest thing about our life. Sure there are things that make it different… but overall it’s just like everyone else.
It is great to connect with other people in similar situations. In the last month, I’ve talked to two different pregnant women expecting little miracles like our daughters. It felt great to give them some positive experiences and it made me realize how far we had come from the day she was born. We’re in a good place, and it’s good to share that “light at the end of the tunnel” with other families who are starting their journeys.
Jordan looks happy and so darling! It’s wonderful to hear how great she is doing! Keep up the good work Jordan!
This is such an excellent post. The stares as a child that I got were evident but my parents did the same thing – dont worry about them.
I appreciate the attitude that you have with Jordan. She is going to do amazing things. Keep in touch.
Thanks Darin – and it’s always awesome to know I’m on the right track as a parent!