Differences

It always discourages me to be out in public and get the stares and questions from complete strangers... "How old are your boys?" - they ask.

"They're two."

"How old is the little one?"

I want to scream... didn't you hear me... "THEY are two!"

However, I fear it would be out of character for me to scream at them - so I just answer, "He's two... they are twins."

The comments and looks I get after that vary, but have one common thread... complete shock!

I could go into this long exaggerated story about their birth and Whit's struggles. But, I usually leave that up to their imagination - because with three children at my feet - there usually isn't time to do the earlier choice.

Every Monday and Wednesday we take a trip to a place for Whit to receive Speech Therapy. This is a place that offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy for children. For each therapy for Whit - Maggie and Chap must tag along.... complete patience and understanding as they sit in the waiting room with me.

Sometimes, while in the waiting room, 1 or 2 other children come in. These children are there to receive therapy. As we sat there the other day, Maggie was sitting in a chair... a young boy, about the age of 3 came and shoved her out of her chair. Maggie's eyes met mine, but she didn't say a word as she repositioned herself in the chair. After this little boy left, another little boy came in and picked up a crayon and marked on the paper she was working on. When she played soccer, I used to get frustrated that she didn't attack the ball. But, here, in this waiting room - I was so proud of her... for her gentleness, her innocence in something that was unexplainable, and her compassion in these little boys that she could see something was different.

What a lesson for me. As people in public see the boys together, they visually see something different. They are just responding to the differences they see. On that same day, as we walked out of the therapy clinic, two people, at different times made the same exact comment: "What a beautiful family." I only hope that I can respond to others' comments, questions, and suggestions the same way that my four year old responded to the invasion of her space by two complete strangers. I pray that our family, as a whole, can be a testimony to people in accepting others' differences.