Teasing

My mom is worried about Olivia getting teased when she enters school in a couple of years.

She worries because O still pulls her hair out, which necessitates us keeping is short, short, short.

She worries because Olivia still has physical challenges and at this point, we're unsure of her mental challenges, if she has any. She seems so well-adjusted, so laid-back, so 'normal.'

Yet, I know that kids are mean. Kids will pick that one child in a room full of children who is even a little different and they'll let that one difference mean something.

I truly cannot comprehend someone wanting to be mean to either of my girls. I look at my sweet Olivia and wonder what kind of evil would have to be lurking inside someone for them to be hateful to her.

Last night I heard a news report about a group of teenagers (17 - 19 maybe?) who had been sentenced to serve prison time for beating up a girl who suffered from cerebral palsy.

Why?

Why do people do these kinds of things?

My first instinct was to hold Olivia close.

Would/will someone, someday want to hurt her, just because she's different?

And yet, she doesn't really look at that different, at least not at four years old. But might she change? Might her disorder start showing on her face? If so, will that make people be mean to her?

I know I can't protect her from life.

I don't want to. I want her to live, to learn, to love and laugh and even feel a little heartbreak once in awhile if only to cherish the joy of life that much more.

But...society is full of cruel people with mean intentions coursing through them.

I pray my children can avoid those kinds of people. I pray that our world changes for the better over time, that each of us can make a difference, make people see that different doesn't have to mean bad.