Acceptance

Today is International Acceptance Day (it is still the 20th from where I type!).  All day, I've been thinking about what "Acceptance" means or should mean for my Sammie B.  I want my girl to grow into a world that sees her "cans" more often than her "can'ts," that sees her similarities more often than her differences.  A world that looks at my girl, and sees not just a little girl that cannot yet walk independently, but a little girl who, just like most little ladies her age, loves Princesses and Dora and giggling and anything "dessert."  I want the world to see her for her magic.  Her perseverance.  Her love.  Her gentle, gentle soul.  Not her challenges.  For, even though her challenges certainly help shape who she is, they do not define her.

And, today, I really, really want to thank Stevie Hopkins (and Annie, whose memory is alive in the hearts of so many)  of 3E Love for sharing their symbol and story with the world.  For showing the world (and reminding this mama) that a person's form of mobility does not define or limit the richness of their lives.  For showing me and the world that no matter what my girl's ultimate form of mobility may be, its her story, and it will be a great one.  It already is.  And, I am so, so blessed to be a part of the story that my Sammie B is writing.

I could not have picked any more perfect little creature to have been my first-born.  To have made me a mama.  For I have learned more from her in her four short years on this planet than I learned in my first thirty.   She is amazing.  And she is mine.  And, tonight, I reflect on how blessed I am to have been entrusted with her.  To be her mama.

My girl, may this world meet you with all the magic and acceptance that your magic deserves.