Friday, October 15, 2010

Day 15: The Typicalness of Friendship

I just love hearing about Samantha's friends at school, in particular her "typical" school.  Steve drops her off and picks her up from there on the two days a week she attends, and it's just so heartening to hear him recount a conversation he's had with a teacher, parent or child. 

A few weeks back (did I blog about this one already?) Samantha came home with a beaded friendship bracelet with her name on it.  When asked, the teacher said that another little girl in an adjoining classroom had made it for her and that they often played together.  We ran into this little girl with her mother and her brother at the supermarket one day (her brother recognized Samantha), and the excitement the two little girls had to see each other just made me melt.  They danced around in circles, the other girl tickling Samantha, and Samantha giggling hysterically.  It was a really sweet moment, particularly for us.  The mother told us that her daughter was insistent that she make the bracelet for her friend, and that it took her two days to do it.  I hoped that the mother didn't see my eyes tear up...

Then the other day, one of the mothers Steve saw when he want to pick up Sammi told him that her daughter was always talking about a little girl at school, Samantha, and about how pretty she is. 

Yep, she sure is.

15 comments:

tekeal said...

oh how wonderful. i can really appreciate what you're talking about... in my last blog entry there's a pic of livia's little (typical) friend and they always push each other on the swings, giggle alot (usually after saying pee & poo over and over) and hug & kiss gooodbye. immediate-mama-heart-melt!

and thank you for all your blog posts which are full of so many great things to think about. i don't always /have take the time to comment (you know how it is) but i always appreciate reading and seeing your sweetie.

Nathan'smama said...

Wonderful!

Jen said...

I got teary reading this! (In a good way:)

alicia said...

I always hope and pray that Elias' friends and classmates dont change his mind about him while they grow up.

Sally said...

Teary too - she is utterly gorgeous, and I love reading all about her!

Renee said...

Makes my heart smile! I love the sweetness.

Becca said...

Alicia (I hope you see this!) - that's absolutely a fear I'm sure we all have, but I've seen many cases of the older children with Ds in inclusive classrooms being "protected" by the other "typical" kids they've grown up with over the years. I think (hope) that children who know other children with disabilities their whole lives will have a better understanding of friendship. That's not to say they'll doing all the same things - I am pretty sure our kids won't be included in all of their activities as they grow older, but I do think they'll remain friends.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca-Hello! So this made me tear up as well! There is alot of things we want for Ethan but one of the important ones is that he will be accepted by his peers so this story touched me personally and gave me hope!!

Thank you so much for sharing.

Nicole

Rochelle said...

This speaks so greatly of what a great friend Sammi is to others. Yeah Sammi!

kecia said...

oh that is wonderful! Exactly what I hope for when Bree goes to school, well she goes to preschool but nothing like that has happened there.

Heather said...

I am fairly certain,that Zoey will not be mainstreamed at this point,only because of where I believe she will "be at",not out of fear of how she will be treated.My heart tells me that,much like mankind,the school classrooms and playgrounds are filled with more good than not.

And yes,your girl is indeed pretty.Beautiful,in fact.

Have a great weekend.

Dayna Chandler said...

Oh so sweet! There is a little girl in another classroom at Luke's school that calls him her boyfriend. I got to see them playing together on the field trip yesterday....soooo cute!

Michelle said...

Tears, tears, tears!! Happy ones of course :) How sweet was it that a girl in another classroom made the friendship bracelet on her own with Sammi's name?! Love this!

Cindy said...

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing! :)

Melissa said...

I'm very behind on blog reading, but sometimes thats good. I was having an off day with regards to Ds and this post easily brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. Thanks for sharing!