My grandson Jake and grandaughter-in-love Megan are your typical young couple raising my grandsons Bronx and Shai. The only thing that is unusual is that Megan has been in a wheelchair most of her life. They took the boys to the neighborhood pool for the first time the other day. She gave me permission to share this story of how my kindergarten grandson Shai answered the question
“Summer break started and we decided to take the boys to the public pool for the first time this season. Almost all the chairs are filled and you see the excitement of all the kids in the pool. As we approach some lounge chairs, Shai immediately noticed a friend from his bus.
(I’ll share more about sending your kids to public school at five and six-years old later, but man does it hurt the mom-heart sometimes. I remember putting him on that bus for the first time terrified but again just trusting he would be OK and sure enough we made it through kindergarten just fine.)
As we set stuff down, Shai’s little friend hollers from across the entire pool “Hey Shai, what’s wrong with your mom?” Shai instantly looks at me with a mixture of fear and ‘what the heck?‘ in his big eyes.
In a split second I realize something deep in my heart – This is it! The moment I’ve been waiting for. The moment I NEVER wanted my children to experience, but also the moment I wanted them to be PREPARED for. The moment I pictured in my head happening and the reason I started “No Such Thing”.
I could have bailed him out and explained to the kid that his question was slightly inappropriate. I could have walked over to his uncomfortable mother and shared with her too, but I looked at Shai gave him a smile and immediately responded “go ahead and answer him.”
Shai is an extremely exquisite little boy with a large vocabulary and even larger personality and I honestly didn’t know what was about to come out of his mouth.
He screams across the entire pool “Nothings wrong with her. She just can’t walk”. The best answer I could have ever heard. Simple and true.
The boy then says “why does she have legs then?”
You could feel the awkwardness for the parents surrounding the pool but I still didn’t want to intervene. Shai then walks over and explains what my wheelchair is and that I use it to get around and that my legs just aren’t strong enough to walk but just because I can’t use them like he does doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have them.
The mom then walks over and apologizes for her son but I tell her “it’s ok, Shai handled it” Did I mentioned this boy was probably 2 or 3 grades older than Shai?
I’m sure she was embarrassed that the entire pool heard her son scream such intense questions, but honestly I couldn’t have been more proud of the way Shai replied. I felt so much pride in my heart. He wasn’t ashamed that his mom was different. I think if anything he felt bad the child didn’t know the simple answer of what a wheelchair was used for.
As a mother our natural instinct is to protect. To prevent harm, shame or even uncomfortable situations for our babies. I believe we are called to equip them. To teach them to stand up for love and truth. I never wanted my child to have to answer this question, but I also knew it was inevitable.
Do you relate to the mom whose child is asking the “awkward” question? Or do you relate to living with a unique situation that the world is hungry for knowledge or insight about?
Either way I hope to be a resource for you. Through my book No Such Thing As Normal or through my blogs, vlogs, facebook, and instagram. media accounts where I’m sharing what I’ve learned as I continue to navigate the question “what’s wrong with your mom”, not only for my boys but for myself. ”
Learn more about Megan and follow her blog here. Buy here book No Such Thing here. I am so proud of them and how they are raising their boys. Megan is also Mrs. Wheelchair Tennessee and uses her platform to educate others about the importance of understanding and accepting the differences in all of us.
Yes, proud grandma here.
Thank you for sharing this story. It is the best answer anyone can give, I believe. You all did great job raising kids and grandchildren 💚
Marty how touching and what a great young man Shai is. His mom is no different than any of the other mom’s at the pool she just cannot walk on her own. What a great way to handle that awkward question from that other boy. Kids are so inquisitive too. This also allowed this boy that asked the question to know that it is ok to ask questions but maybe not shouting it across a crowded pool! It is teaching kids diversity comes in all different ways. I think everyone learned something wonderful. What a great and wonderful grandson. I remember when they had their first son and how exciting that was for them. Now to have two boys is wonderful. Thanks for sharing your grandson’s sweet story. xoxo Kris
Amazing family!
What a remarkable story, Marty! Megan and Shai handled it like the rock stars they most certainly are. You have every right to be super proud of them.
Love she shared this with you/us. Thank you, Megan!!! Best wishes for a happy summer for you all.
Hugs and prayers.
That was wonderful!!!
Beautiful! Just so sweet ❤️
I love that you shared that, what a wonderful family.
Marty, thank you and this brave Mother for sharing this heartwarming experience. What a brave, intelligent, loving son, know she is proud of how he handled this. He probably handled it better than most adults, and has so much love and understanding in his heart. His parents have taught him how to handle life experiences, commend these parents for how they are raising this two good looking boys. Attractive Mother and Boys, hope they continue to enjoy outings and time at pool. May the Lord bless this family!
I too am a grandma with two beautiful granddaughters and a son (their father) who has lost both legs below the knee to diabetes so I do understand the questions and ignorance of others both children and adults alike. My son is very much like your daughter-in-law as life will not get in his way. The girls have learned a great deal about life’s ups and downs since their dad lost his legs but I feel it has made them better equipped to meet the world. We live in a little town in central Ontario, Canada where persons in wheelchairs or with artificial legs is a oddity.
You have a terrific Grand DIL. She was so smart to let her son handle the situation. I love Shai’s response! In that moment, he showed the great character he has.
Lot of truth and love shared in this post
What a wonderful woman raising beautiful children! Thank you for introducing her to us.❤️
Love this Marty. Kids don’t overthink responses. He was direct and polite. Thank you for sharing! We need more of these stories.
Absolutely amazing! They are raising some super smart, super sensitive, wonderful boys! And I’m glad that mom came over to apologize and address the situation. As a former teacher I saw that kind of behavior a lot from kids and often parents were completely unaware of their child’s behavior. Looks like that was a learning experience for all!!
Absolutely GENIUS answer from your brilliant grandson ! Wow, it’s so smart of the mom to let her son explain on his own what they “thought” was wrong with his mother.
Thank you so much for sharing such an inspiring story and congrats Marty for having such a bright grandchild.
Have a nice week.
Fabby
Fantastic, just fantastic. Nothing wrong with my Mom at all …. love it. GREAT youngster, great family.
Ramona
Lakefield ON Canada
What a smart little boy! Great story! Thank you for sharing!