Normal

Last week, something occurred to me. I was talking to my friend who was interested in volunteering for Special Gifts in the future. I was explaining to her what the role of a mentor is. I explained how as a mentor, you stay with one buddy and help them with their lines, singing, and dancing. She then asked me a question, which took me a minute to answer. Does it ever get awkward, like how they’re not normal and all? Immediately I thought to myself, you did not just ask that. Not that the question was bad, but the way my friend had phrased it. Normal. Everyone at Special Gifts and beyond is unique in their own way.

To answer her question, lots of normal things happen while at Special Gifts. It doesn’t matter how many things a person can be diagnosed with, they can still have just as much of a “normal” time as someone like me.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/Hazi234/normal.png

I went on to tell my friend about a conversation my buddy, Billy and I had last week. Billy was getting on his scooter from at the end of a hallway that has a few stairs and a downhill to get back to the classroom. He started pushing with his legs and was going pretty fast. Being the cautious person that I am, I told him to slow down. He asked me why. I said I didn’t want him to fall and hurt himself. This, for whatever reason, made Billy laugh really hard. I asked him if he’s ever fallen before, knowing the answer was yes. He told me he never falls. I called him a liar and was joking with him. He was laughing very hard and started pointing fingers at me and calling me a liar!

It’s times like these where I take a minute to reflect. I’ve definitely had conversations like these with my friends and family before, which by most are considered “normal”. Despite Billy’s Cerebral Palsy, things between us are just like any other friendship someone might have. Of course things can get awkward at times, but it doesn’t stop us from having a great time together. This environment, if anything, has a more normal bond going on between friends. Just because the kids that participate aren’t as highly functioning as most people doesn’t mean they can’t have great experiences like everyone else.