Consolation Prizes

It's always a dicey thing, to balance between letting Gee participate in various activities, and knowing that there are just going to be some activities he physically CAN'T participate in.*

One thing he can't do right now is be separated from Mom or Dad for more than a couple of hours at a time.  Emotionally he's all good, but physically--there are certain tasks that have to be completed at least three times a day, and usually more like four or five.

And this means that he can't participate in Uncle Tyler's annual "Torture Camp"--an overnight trip with the local boys in the family that allows them to shoot each other with water cannons, hike and play and camp and basically go feral for 24 hours.  He's old enough (you have to be entering kindergarten in the fall), but he just can't go.  We thought maybe he'd be able to, but logistics being what they are, it just doesn't work.

I was very worried about telling Gee this disappointing news.  Fortunately, I was inspired to lead the conversation off with a consolation prize--a trip to Payson Pool, just him and me and Hebs!  Then I told him he couldn't go to Torture Camp.  He was momentarily sad, but not necessarily for the reason I was expecting.  "Do I still get to go to the pool?" he asked, his sweet little forehead crinkling up.

Once reassured on that topic, he was sunshine and happiness.  "I'm not going to Torture Camp, it's too far away this year.  But I AM going to the pool!" he tells anyone who asks (and many who don't).

I'm really grateful that he's still the age where a trip to the local pool can erase the disappointed of a missed activity.  I know that won't always be the case.

*(Which is why the "Think Beyond the Label" billboards irk me so much.  The purpose of the group is worthy--to encourage businesses to hire people with disabilities--but their tagline, "Labels get in the way, disabilities rarely do" just rubs me the wrong way.  Hello, whatever you label it, disabilities DO get in the way.  That's just a fact of life.  Don't be stupid; you aren't convincing anyone any differently.)