It's a good thing I don't mind people paying attention to me. (Actually, I mind when they don't pay attention to me, but that's a post for another day.) Walking around with my Gee pretty much guarantees that everyone stops, looks, smiles, and admires him.
I imagine that a lot of this is because he is so little. There is something incredibly adorable about a determined two-year-old zooming around with his pint-sized walker. He's totally unself-conscious about it, too; obviously he is too little to know that there is anything unusual about it. He's just making his way in the world, and the fact that everyone stares and smiles and comments doesn't even register with him.
I wonder how it will be in a few years, if he still needs the walker (or even if he is using his crutches exclusively). Will he still love the attention? Will he hate it? Or will it just roll off his back, neither bothering nor delighting him?
And will the attention be different? Will the sweet woman who coos about how cute he is now make similar comments when he is five? Six? Twelve? (Probably not.) Will the acceptance and fascination that kids show him now continue when he is older?
I imagine it won't be the same. I don't know how much it will matter to him. I don't know how it will matter to me, the first time he is teased or shunned because of his disability. No one, disabled or not, makes it through life without some unpleasant experiences, but with Gee I can imagine them with a clarity I can't with my other kids.
So right now, I soak up the approving glances and comments. Why, yes, he is good with his walker. Yes, he is the cutest thing in the world. And, definitely, he is proud of himself for walking.
That's my baby, world. Keep being gentle with him.
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