Leg Talk

Twice a day I am inundated with questions about my prosthetic. Each morning and again in the afternoon, Robby's classmates surround and pepper me with observations and questions. After the Pirate Party was derailed when the students were more interested in my foot than the cupcakes I brought, it became obvious that the time was ripe for a prosthetic show and tell.

Robby's teacher is wonderful and seemed relieved when I offered to come in and discuss my leg with the class. In retrospect, she has probably been trying to figure out a politically correct way to ask. I would have offered sooner, but I didn't want to impose.

This morning I'll be returning to classroom teaching! Robby is excited about having me come and spend time in his room. When I told him that I'll be talking with his friends about my leg, he informed me that it was "boring." He suggested I talk about something "really super cool, like how to catch a blue gill at the Animal Park." In his eyes, apparently a fish trumps a prosthetic.

I suspect that his friends will be more impressed with my prosthetic as Robby has been living with my various legs his entire life. For him, having multiple legs around the house is the norm!

I must admit that I'm looking forward to talking with his classmates. I even dug through the back of my closet and uncovered my first prosthetic. I'm going to leave it at school so that the kids can explore and play with it. I'm hoping that my talking as well as  leaving a leg behind will help quell some of the curiosity. While I like talking with his friends, I'd like to move the topic to something beyond my amputation.