The "R" word and others

I love to spend time on Myspace and look at others profiles. I just can't seem to get over the number of people who use the "R" word and other offensive sayings. I have to admit that before I had Regan I didn't think much of it. I probably even used it.

When Regan was just a few weeks old I heard the "R" word and it just killed me. I took it to heart and I started crying. No it wasn't aimed at my child, me or anything that I had a part of but just hearing it hurt.

Since that day I have went through many stages about THE word. A few months there I would cry when I heard it, then I went through the stage of ignoring it, I think the next stage was to laugh it off and then say how it bothered me, then I went into the angry with who ever said it. I remember Ricky saying something to some teenagers one time and they just looked at him like he was crazy. I have stopped shopping at a certain grocery store because the cashier said it twice while checking me out, once about the bags and then about the register. I was in my not saying anything stage and just vowed to never return to that store and I haven't. I was apart of an email group of SAHM and they had a often made a joke about who needed to be on the short bus that day. I finally got fed up. Wrote the group a email and then left it. I loved reading from the group but just couldn't sit there and feel the pain anymore.

Ya see, I know that my child is considered "retarded" he is slow, he develops at a slower pace than his peers, he doesn't talk, he doesn't know his colors, he isn't a typical child in so many ways. But when people make it a joke to have the struggles that Regan has faced and will face I don't think its a laughing matter.

If your a parent and you have taught your child the short bus jokes and encouraged the use of these demeaning words I wish you could for one moment feel the pain of knowing that one day your child is going to say that towards my child and then I'm going to have to explain to my children what that "joke" meant. Better yet I'll let you come to my house and look in my child's eyes and tell him why you allow a joke to be made out of his struggles. For now I'm going to make sure that I teach my child not to make fun of others who weren't raised with consideration of others and respect for people with different abilities.