Entry Sixty One- He’s Cute, Right?

My son… he’s cute, right?

I am his mom and probably a little biased, but he is cute, right? He has the most beautiful blue eyes and his sweet little smile can truly light up a room.

It isn’t only me who thinks so…“He is so sweet I could work with him all day” our physiotherapist has told me. “I just love working with Oscar” says our a occupational therapist. I believe that they genuinely enjoy working with Oscar. I mean, who wouldn’t, he is really cute.

But what happens to him when he is no longer “cute”?

What happens then?

What happens when this cute little boy grows up into an older child. Will people still be as excited to work with him? Will they still be as accepting?

And then when that older child grows up and becomes a young adult…

What happens then?

Will people still be as eager to help him? Will they help him at all? Will they continue to be compassionate and accepting?

What happens to him when he is no longer “cute”?

I don’t know.

Thankfully most babies grow up. Most babies will become a toddler who then become a child. And that child will eventually grow up and become an adult. Is the world as kind to that adult? That adult was once a cute little toddler who everyone was so willing to help, but now they have outgrown their “cuteness”.

There is a grocery store chain who employs special needs adults to clean up and organize their shopping carts. Do customers greet them upon entering the store? Do people acknowledge that they are there? Or have they become invisible?

Fast forward 20 years and that could be my cute little boy. There is nothing more that I would wish for my son (both of my kids) than for him to feel like he has a purpose in his day, whatever that purpose may be. I hope my son is able to have a job, regardless of how simple the job may seem. I hope that people greet him. I hope that people will look him in the eye and acknowledge that he is there. That he is a person too.

I hope that he doesn’t become invisible when he is no longer “cute”.