Truth

..."God says we need to love our enemies. It's hard to do. But it can start by telling the truth. No one had ever asked me what it felt like to be me. Once I told the truth about that, I felt free..." -The Help

...Dream

Here's one of the projects I did today. It's one of my Great Grandma's old end tables... the before and after. I made it for the girls' bedroom. And, that's one of my Great Grandma's crochet doilies on top of it. I love how it turned out and love that there's a piece of my Great Grandma living on in my daughters' room!

Rise & Shine

The girls were SO excited to see the moon this morning. I then explained to them that it's WAY more exciting to see the sun in the morning... ;)

Rise With The Sun

Another pretty sunrise today! I guess that's one good thing about your kids getting up super early every day... you always get to see the sunrise. :)

Baby Animal Teeth

This morning, Nenni ran to the bookshelf, grabbed the Muppet Babies book, and ran back to me and Buddy. Then she opened it to a specific page, pointed to Animal, and said, "Buddy, see?! You need to grow teeth like this!" ...He'll work on that... ;)

The "R" Word

A couple weeks ago I started watching the show "Parenthood". I had never seen an episode of it, but I always heard people talking about how awesome it was. So, I figured I'd check it out.

I'm so glad I did.

Turns out, it's a great show, and I'm only halfway through Season 2. I actually watch it while I walk/run on my treadmill. The time flies by and I feel like I learn stuff about my own life through it. 

Anyways, today one of the episodes I watched dealt with the "R" word. (retard/retarded) It leaves a bad taste in my mouth just from typing it. 

I've always had a very strong opinion about this word. I find it to be worse than the "F" word, the "S" word, and equal with the "N" word... all the curse words that I was never allowed to say growing up. My entire life, I have never used this word. I don't find a reason to, and I get offended when I hear someone use it. It's almost always used in a negative and/or hurtful way. Throughout my childhood, any time someone used it towards someone else, basically to call them stupid, I would cringe. And to this day, when I hear someone call someone else that word, I immediately think less of them. I do. It makes people look completely disrespectful, unprofessional, and uneducated.

The word retard is defined as "a slowing down, to be delayed", so why do people so often use it to call people dumb? And to make fun of people? Slow does not mean dumb. It has become a negative word simply because people have used it in the wrong sense. 

The "R" word is just another word for disabled or handicapped. Sadly, I understand how it has been turned into a meaning that is not its truth. 

Someone who is disabled is not stupid. They are not dumb. And they definitely aren't retarded in the sense that the world now uses that word. 

A mentally disabled person has a mental handicap. A physically disabled person has a physical handicap. But... don't we all?! We are all disabled in different ways, and on different levels. We are all good at things, and we are all bad at things... and we all face different challenges in life because of it. We are no different from one another in the sense that, not one of us is perfect. (I, for instance, have no sense of smell!)

I wanted to make a post about this because it has always been a very large part of my own life. 

I have an uncle who is physically and mentally disabled. He was born very premature and wasn't supposed to live past birth. Well, he did, and he's now in his mid 40's, and he is amazing. He has lived with my grandparents his whole life, and they too are amazing. So when I hear people get called the "R" word simply because of the way they look, the way they talk, or the way they act, it cuts me deep. Being disabled is not a negative thing. Yes, it makes life harder in many ways, but it doesn't mean the person is bad or contagious (some people seriously think that). They are a human being. They are someone's family. In fact, my uncle is one of the most amazing people I have met in my entire life. He has taught me more about my life than most people I've met or schooling I've had. There are so many things I admire about him. His smile is contagious. He's hilarious. He's witty. He loves everything about music. He loves going for rides on his tractor. He loves to give high-fives. And he loves the Brewers more than anything in the world. He is nothing short of amazing... and his life alone is a complete miracle. A disabled person sees life through a different perspective... and in ways... I think the world truly needs that. It's actually quite refreshing to see the simplicity of their thoughts. I'll never forget one day when my siblings and I were at my grandparents house, a long, long time ago... we were eating cheese puffs at the kitchen table with my uncle. We were trying to teach him a math problem (he has the mentality of a toddler), and one of us asked him, "If you have 5 bananas and you eat 4 of them, what do you get?" As we were all thinking "1", he laughed and answered, "A stomach ache!" Brilliant, right?! We were all thinking in mathematical terms, and he gave the best answer I ever could have imagined. And he was right! To this day, I think of that moment, and I am reminded of the brilliance of his brain. He may be disabled, but all that means is his brain works in a different way than my own. And who's to say who is smarter?! We are both smart in different ways, and to be honest, I admire the way he thinks. That moment made me realize that though someone may be physically and mentally disabled, they are still a brilliant human being who can remind the world of the simplicity of life.

There is nothing wrong with a person who has a disability of any level. They were put here on this earth for a reason, and instead of criticizing one another, I hope someday this world will be able to look to one another for knowledge. We can learn from every person we meet. I hope people will stop associating the "R" word with such negative feelings and expressions. We all need to start embracing each others differences and stop being so negative and cruel towards those who are different from us. Stop being so judgmental and start being more accepting. And please, just stop using the "R" word to put others down. It's not OK.

My Uncle :)