Friday, October 26, 2012

Day 26: The Mayor

Some day I'll learn to take better cell phone photos...
How does she do it?  Is it some magic potion?  A spell?  How does she manage to captivate and endear herself to nearly every person with whom she comes into contact?  It's pretty mesmerizing to watch, the endless stream of students of all ages and teachers moving past her as they rush to their classes, all calling out, "Hi, Sammi!" or, "Hey, Samantha!  Samantha!  Over here!"  Sometimes she acknowledges them with a big smile and a cheery hello, along with their name, sometimes she dismisses them with a casual wave and an unsmiling "oh, hi."  I think those are the ones whose names have escaped her.

Some of her teachers call her the Mayor of the school.  I understand that.  And, while it makes some tiny alarm bells go off in my head about stereotypes (I'm sure I've heard many other stories of children with Down syndrome or other disabilities being labeled the "mayor" of their school, but that extra chromosome seriously does include that "social" gene...), I am grateful for it.  There's a sense of safety and protection from her peers ingrained in the title, as evidenced by the behaviors of those around her.  Knowing that those children will be there for her throughout grade school, the older ones to be upper classmen when she enters the dreaded middle school years, ready to have her back, the teachers of upcoming grades who are already familiar with her and ready to greet her into their classrooms when the time comes...

And so, while there's no campaigning to do now, the title honorarily bestowed upon her, it may be a sign of things to come.  Next stop, student council...?  Buckingham Palace to hold court?  Okay, so I jump ahead a bit.  One step at a time, right?

7 comments:

JC said...

The "Mayor" is beautiful :)...Oh, and I am still cracking up over your FB status this morning, lol

Rochelle said...

She is fabulous! I love that our kids are social and their peers love and accept them!

Unknown said...

Is there a way to reach you via email? I am working with a very special lady, Dr. Julia Kinder, who has an 8 year old daughter with Down syndrome. We're trying to promote a Petition and I thought you would be a great resource to help spread the word.

Please get back to me at: colin@juliakinder.com

Thank you!

Jess said...

The mayor. I haven't heard that one yet. But my step-daughter also seems to know everyone at school! Nearly every person she passes by says hello to her. it must be their genes. :p :)

Unknown said...

Great post! Totally reminds me of my 3 year old son Owen who was named "Social Director" by the adults at our YMCA. He seems to know all of the people who work there and always has a smile and a wave for everyone. On the flip side, they all know him and say Hi Owen every time we are there. I only know about 1/2 of them myself, so how in world did he get so popular?!

Cindy said...

I love that they call her the Mayor!! You might want to buckle your seat belt, you may be in for a wild ride!! :)

wendy said...

What a great post! It's the same with Claire,we can be grocery shopping and people come up to her to say hi!