These two cute boys had an awesome weekend. We celebrated a very good friend's birthday and Elijah was on cloud nine about the bouncy house and kiddie pools and ice cream. Sammy loved the ice cream, too.
We made it to the pool today and had a super fun time. Elijah of course experienced pure bliss. He LOVES being in the water. It took me two hours to talk Sammy into getting into the water. Once he got in, he adored it.
I shed a few tears behind my sunglasses at the pool today. Elijah has such tormented interactions with other boys his age. I can always see exactly what's going on, while he becomes confused and starts talking gibberish. The other boys become confused, too, when he doesn't respond the way they anticipate. Today a boy his age approached him and Elijah actually looked at me and said, "WOW!" Most boys his age do not give him the time of day due to his gross motor disadvantage. :( This boy kept urging him to come and be crazy and swim with him! Well... E just can't! He physically just cannot do it. So he turned back toward me and looked at me like, "MOM! What do I do?!" The boy came up to him and started saying things that did not make sense to Elijah. He was talking about venom and antidotes and concepts Elijah has never considered. Elijah was confused. Then.....the boy looked long and hard at E's scar. He stopped and stared for a long time. Then he looked at me. And swam away. And never came back. :(
Elijah doesn't yet understand that his scar, and that the MEANING of his awesome scar differentiates him from his peers. In one way I love this and in another way I hate this. I want him to know that he is just as awesome and cool as his peers, but I also want him to know that he has such amazing strength! It's difficult to explain.
This is a huge reason why we are going on our summer road trip. We will be connecting with families in a way that only heart families understand. We cannot wait for our big trip. We'll be leaving a week from tomorrow!
We have a busy week ahead, preparing for our big trip plus dealing with "normal" life details and planning ahead, as well. It will all get done! Right?! Have a great week, everyone!