Shapes are Everywhere!

Since Robby's audible and socially incorrect observations that he made at my prosthetists office, we have been talking a lot about how people are different. I, along with Scott, my Mom and our neighbor Mr. Bill have all spoken with Robby about how his pointing out differences can hurt feelings. I decided to take the offense to try to drill in the point so that another unfortunate observation could be avoided.

Before entering my prosthetists office again Robby and I reviewed the "rules." People are different, and it is not nice to talk about physical variations. He was to keep his remarks, observations and thoughts to himself and we would talk about them privately. After all, he doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings or make them sad.

Before going inside, I took a deep breath and simply hoped for the best. I also hoped that the woman whom he offended earlier was not in the waiting room. I felt a wave of relief when I opened the door and she wasn't there.

My appointment went smoothly and Robby was well behaved. On our way out, as I was talking to some of the office staff in the hallway, I saw a man with dwarfism enter. The look of amazement and awe on Robby's face let me know that he saw him enter as well.

"Psst... Momom. Psst... Momom I have to tell you something." I shot Robby the "don't do this to me or your little world will come crashing down" Mommy stare. He hesitated as if he was contemplating whether it was worth it to proceed. Apparently it was worth it.

"Momom. I have to tell you something right now." I grabbed Robby by the arm and took him into a treatment room. Closing the door, I explained (again) that it isn't nice to comment on what other people look like. My prosthetist, who happened to be in the room, simply told Robby that he shouldn't laugh because people come in all shapes and sizes.

Apparently that simple statement made the greatest impact. Robby walked past the man without a remark or giggle. The entire drive home he simply kept talking about how people come in all shapes and sizes. I felt a sense of calm as I contemplated that this uncomfortable developmental stage is behind us.

My tranquility was shattered when I took Robby to the grocery store. He spent the entire shopping trip pointing out all of the different shapes that he saw. I was happy to escape the store unscathed after he pointed to a rather large biker and said, "Momom, look at that shape!" I think we are going to start working on his quiet voice.