I am a kid magnet. Especially little ones in strollers, my fellow four-wheelers. They will look at me, then my 'stroller', then back at me. And I waste no time in striking up a discussion with these fellow captives of the four-wheel system that has us at the mercy of whomever may be pushing us around. For those that are verbal, I like to compare our 'strollers'. One such young man, at the March in D.C. pointed out that I had two really big wheels and two really small ones, but his transport's wheels were all the same size and then he counted (it was adorable watching him squirm around in the stroller to look at the wheels behind him!) eight wheels. "Pus," he lisped what I assume was 'plus', "I have a hood." He proudly grabbed the stroller canopy and pulled it forward and backward.
Yep, he had a much superior ride and I told him so. Then he said, with not a hint of awkwardness, "You're big for a stroller." His mother was about to admonish his comment, but I looked at her and smiled. And said, "Yes, I am. But I can't walk very well and fall a lot. So I use this to help me get around."
And then he said, "I'm kind of big for a stroller too. But Mom makes me when she wants to go someplace." It was his mother's turn to smile at me and explain that she wasn't going to bring him to the March but her husband, who was a D.C. police officer, had to work because of the large crowds, and they agreed their four-year-old would be safer in the stroller.
As we went in different directions, we waved, my fellow captive and I. He's probably forgotten me, but I'll always remember him!
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Teaching Sunday school to 3-5 year olds is not for the faint of heart or the vain.
Last spring, for example, one of my 'students' reminded me that I was not a teacher. I was 'just pretending on Sundays'. This same tike, after asking me how old I was, said 'geez you're as old as my grandpa'.
To which I said, "Geez your grandpa is awfully young."
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For the past few years, I've had the chance to read to my future daughter-in-law's first grade class. Each year, despite Carmen's efforts to teach her students the 'right' kind of questions, I get asked some doozies!
"How old are you?" (Carmen has interjected that it's not polite to ask a person's age.) I've answered anyway and get the responses like I'm as old as their grandma or "Wow, you're old!"
What has been endearing each year, is the look of amazement on the student's faces, when I stand up. Like they're witnessing a miracle! And the questions or comments come quickly and all at the same time; how can you stand?, I thought you couldn't do that?, are you all better?
Adults have a hard time understanding M.S., (even those of us with this damn disease, have a hard time understanding it) so for children it's even more challenging. I explain the best I can that I can stand and even walk short distances but need my wheelchair to walk far because I'd fall. I never know how much they really understand after I'm done but one student this year summed it up best.
"Man, Ms. Piggy, that stinks." Yes it does. Yes it does.
By the way, I let all children under the age of 10 call me Ms. Piggy, so he wasn't in trouble!!
Yep, he had a much superior ride and I told him so. Then he said, with not a hint of awkwardness, "You're big for a stroller." His mother was about to admonish his comment, but I looked at her and smiled. And said, "Yes, I am. But I can't walk very well and fall a lot. So I use this to help me get around."
And then he said, "I'm kind of big for a stroller too. But Mom makes me when she wants to go someplace." It was his mother's turn to smile at me and explain that she wasn't going to bring him to the March but her husband, who was a D.C. police officer, had to work because of the large crowds, and they agreed their four-year-old would be safer in the stroller.
As we went in different directions, we waved, my fellow captive and I. He's probably forgotten me, but I'll always remember him!
####
Teaching Sunday school to 3-5 year olds is not for the faint of heart or the vain.
Last spring, for example, one of my 'students' reminded me that I was not a teacher. I was 'just pretending on Sundays'. This same tike, after asking me how old I was, said 'geez you're as old as my grandpa'.
To which I said, "Geez your grandpa is awfully young."
###
For the past few years, I've had the chance to read to my future daughter-in-law's first grade class. Each year, despite Carmen's efforts to teach her students the 'right' kind of questions, I get asked some doozies!
"How old are you?" (Carmen has interjected that it's not polite to ask a person's age.) I've answered anyway and get the responses like I'm as old as their grandma or "Wow, you're old!"
What has been endearing each year, is the look of amazement on the student's faces, when I stand up. Like they're witnessing a miracle! And the questions or comments come quickly and all at the same time; how can you stand?, I thought you couldn't do that?, are you all better?
Adults have a hard time understanding M.S., (even those of us with this damn disease, have a hard time understanding it) so for children it's even more challenging. I explain the best I can that I can stand and even walk short distances but need my wheelchair to walk far because I'd fall. I never know how much they really understand after I'm done but one student this year summed it up best.
"Man, Ms. Piggy, that stinks." Yes it does. Yes it does.
By the way, I let all children under the age of 10 call me Ms. Piggy, so he wasn't in trouble!!
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