It's Happening

The questions and stares have begun. I'm not sure which is actually better. I was worried about people's reactions to CJ's DOC Band. Day one things weren't so bad, but on Friday the questions began.

It started with a little girl that we actually know from playgroup that we saw at swim lesson sign ups on Friday. She asked Kaitlyn why "her baby" was wearing that hat. Kaitlyn apparently did not know how to respond to her so instead she looks down at her feet and tries to ignore her by moving away. So I simply said to her it's to make him have a nice round head. She seemed satisfied with that. And hey I knew that the kids would ask about it. That's what kids do.

I guess what I really didn't expect was the being approached by a total stranger in the grocery store. I went grocery shopping Friday afternoon with Joe at his store. Actually, I arrived just as he was getting off so he was still in his store "uniform". Now at first when I was approached by this woman I thought perhaps she was a customer of Joe's. He does talk to some of his customers about us like any proud father would, but nope that wasn't the case. This woman made a bee line right for us to ask about CJ's helmet. She thought he had brain surgery. So I explained to her that no that wasn't the case, but rather the back of his head was flat so this was reshaping it. She told me she wished they had that when she had her brain surgery and then showed me her scar. She wasn't mean about it or anything and was really impressed with the things they have come up with and stuff, but I thought it was a little rude that she felt the need to stop her grocery shopping to make a bee line over to us to ask why our son was wearing that on his head.

But perhaps it is better than the awkward glances we have gotten from some people. You know the ones who are probably really dying to know what that thing is on his head, but don't dare want to ask.

And I of course know that we are doing what's best for our son. I suppose I've experienced this before in a sense when Natalie was little and used sign language to communicate. People would ask if she was deaf. And I'd have to go through and explain that no this is just how she tells us what she wants because she doesn't talk yet. Still I wish that my children didn't have to experience any of this. Of course they have no clue what's going on. They are happy as a clam which really is all that matters. I am just going to have to get a thicker skin I suppose and not worry so much about what other people think or say. And things could be so much worse that's for sure. So I guess I'll just answer peoples questions and stares with a smile on my face and the confidence that I have that this is giving my child a better quality of life.