Jubilee Day

Yesterday afternoon I decided to pack up the Cousin Crew and surprise them with a visit to a local street fair.  The organizers of the "Jubilee" tout it to be the longest running (and largest) one day street fair on the East coast and, since it was a beautiful day, I thought we would check it out.  The kids love grabbing free giveaways and with over 300 vendors signed on for the event, I figured that they would have a blast filling their bags with swag. 

Donning their tie dyed Cousin Crew shirts, the kids grabbed some empty bags and piled into the car. We arrived relatively early in the afternoon, which allowed us to park relatively close to the fair. As we walked towards the roped off streets we were hit with the wafting aromas of roasting meat, popcorn, french fries and cotton candy. (In other words, the smells of summer.)

The kids went to work searching for loot as soon as we walked into the fair. We methodically went up one side and down another, spinning every wheel and playing every Plinko game. They picked up extra bags when their original one was stuffed. By the time we were done we had walked 17,000 steps and each tween had accumulated four bags of swag.  

We had a great time at the Jubilee- with one glaring exception. One vendor, who was advertising hosting foreign exchange students (how ironic) both insulted and mocked Robby's speech impairment. When we first encountered her, she commented on Robby's unique "accent." This is not an unusual response to hearing him for the first time. It is something that Robby and I have both become accustomed to handling. I quickly informed her that he does not have an accent but is working hard to overcome his speech issues. 

Usually telling people about the speech issue quells the conversation. Not with this lady. She proceeded to parrot back Robby's words, mimicking his impairment and laughing. Robby was mortified. I was irate. The other cousins were frustrated and angry for him.

We proceeded through the Jubilee, but eventually I decided I needed to do something. Robby (and the Cousin Crew) needed to see me stick up for him. I walked back to the tent and politely confronted the vendor on her response. In a calm tone (for which I deserve credit because I wanted to go ballistic) I let her know that she both insulted and embarrassed my son when she mimicked his speech patterns. She was informed about his impairment, and the fact that he was working hard to correct it, yet she chose to engage in mocking behavior.  

She apologized, but I suspect it was more to close the conversation so I didn't make a scene in her tent. I left, satisfied that I stuck up for my child but frustrated that we live in a world where I had to confront an adult for making fun of him.