And so It begins...

We went to the Bounce n' Play today. More about that later.

It was the exchange after dinner that really got me.

Elena was talking to Jason about our time there--she tends to really give detailed descriptions these days--and she recounted the event where she was climbing the slide ladder, with 5 (older) kids behind her.

"I heard Mommy tell them I had Cerebral Palsy. I know that's why I'm so slow."

And she kept on talking about the rest of our stay while I cringed. I didn't think she had heard me.

*sigh* Look. It's not a secret in our house that E has CP. But we don't say it often, either--and we certainly don't use it as an excuse. It's just one of those things *that is*, and we don't really harp on it.

As I was putting her to bed though, I brought it up.

"Elena, you know when I said that you had CP?"

She looked at me. "Yes."

"Well, that's true. But you can do anything."

She buried her face in her pillow. "But those kids said I was so slow...they all wanted to go in front of me." (None of them went in front of her, though.)

"Did you hear what they said after that?"

"No."

"They said that you did a great job."

She looked at me like I was lying. "When did they say that?"

I got closer to her.

"When you made it to the top."

E smiled, a big huge smile, as if she were emerging from some deep fog. And she hugged her buddy tight, and went to bed happy.

What do I say next time? What do I do when the scenario doesn't end well? This isn't going away. If anyone has advice, I'd sure like to hear it. I have a feeling this next year is going to be full of situations like this one.

How do you steel a five-year old for the harsh reality of living with a disability in an able-bodied world?