Playing at the park

       I'm watching my girls as they play at the park. I'm enjoying their energy, joy and love for one another. And I wonder, will we be able to do this over the next few months? Will Amaya be able to play at a park with her fixator on? I'm not sure.  And as I'm wondering all this I hear a boy calling out to his dad, "Dad, get over here." The dad approaches then the boy says, "dad, look. One shoe is big and one is small. What's wrong with them. What's wrong with her?" The dad responds, " okay lets go." That's it, no explanation, they just get up and leave. Here was a perfect teachable moment, but instead of talking to his son, the dad shushed him and took the boy and his sister (who the girls were playing with) and left. 
      It's sad to me that people don't know how to respond to a child's curiosity or a disability. Why not tell the child that you don't know, but you could find out together? Why not ask yourself? Ugh. It's so frustrating, disappointing, and saddening. Luckily, the girls didn't  seem to mind much. But, they did ask what happened to their friend and why she had to leave so soon. 
     I wrote this yesterday as I watched the girls at the park. Later as I talked with Josh about it, he was sympathetic to the other parent. He said that the other parent was probably embarrassed and didn't know what else to do. Nevertheless, I wish it wasn't so. This situation has played out several times for us and I can't help but hope and wish that things would be different. For my girls sake, the sake of the other kids, and the sake of all the people they'll all meet in life.