A Rainy Day, A Jersey, And Maybe A Quilt

This past weekend, it was a bit gloomy outside. I like that feeling of having to turn on the lights in the middle of the day; it’s something different, unique and it gives me the wont to do something different. Jax likes days like this too. Sometimes we take all of the sheets and the blankets and drape them over strategically places chairs, making a long fort. Sometimes we get out the View Master projector and shine the pictures on the wall. Not just any wall, it has to be something “different”, like a hallway or inside the large walk-in closet. It is more fun that way. These days, Jax has outgrown blanket forts and View Master. So mom needs to think of some other excitement for the unusually dark day. After a board game, I decided that he wasn’t too old for cleaning out a closet. After all, it is fall and it is time to be rid of the summer clothes which he will not fit into next year. He agreed to help me by trying on clothes, something kids usually dread. Jax obviously doesn’t grow as quickly as other children, so he has amassed quite a collection of clothes. This year, as I went through his wardrobe, I realized there were a lot of clothes he had outgrown. After he had tried on a few garments, I realized almost all of his clothes were the same size or smaller! How could I not have noticed such a growth spurt over the past year? Many moms out there are probably thinking to themselves, “Duh, boys grow; every season I have to buy my kid new clothes.” Well, I do too, just not for the same reason. I like shopping for him. This weekend, I found his closet almost bare! Aside from uniforms, I had not bought clothes for this fall or winter. This is only the second major growth spurt he has had in his life. Even though I have many of his clothes tailored, he is usually just growing into them bit by bit. I have to say it out loud, “This was a shocker.” What the average mom can relate with is the feeling of holding a shirt or baseball cap in their hand and remembering the time when their child was younger. It also serves as a reminder that their child is growing up. I am positive that I am not the only mom who saves a shirt or two. So I decided to make three piles: one for tailored clothes that other LP’s can wear, one for clothes never tailored and will go to charity and one for the clothes I will someday make a quilt out of. (Considering I don’t do his tailoring, it is unlikely I will ever learn to sew well enough to make a quilt.) The pile of clothes for quilting was growing and growing as I folded each one and remembered different times in his life. Once I’d finished, I realized I had better thin that pile down. I know I cannot hang on to everything; but still, it is so hard to let go. Knowing that someone else could use them made it easier and by the end of the afternoon, I had made that stack the smallest of the three. I was packing the last of the charity clothes into a box when I glanced over to a picture on his wall. It was Jax and his uncle. He was wearing a Chicago Bears jersey his uncle had bought for him that day. On his head was the oversized helmet he’d gotten as well. He only came up to his uncle’s knee in the photo and the shirt practically dragged on the ground. I chuckled out loud at the site of that silly helmet covering most of his head. I looked around toward the opposite end of the room and saw the helmet there in his toy basket. Very few moms can say their child has had a shirt that long…and worn it that entire time! At first, as pajamas, then as a shirt, now in a box headed to charity. Suddenly, I found myself digging through the packed clothes like a kid digging through a cereal box looking for the prize. (Not that they do that anymore.) Finally at the bottom of the heap, I found it. It still looked so fresh after all of this time. Jax looked up from what he was doing. “Mom, you can’t keep all of them.” He said. I grimaced a little; which soon smoothed out into a slight pout. Finally, I put the shirt back into the box. “I-we-um you still have the helmet…” I said with a deep breath. “Well, that’s the last of it, time for dinner.” I picked up the box and stacked it on top of the others. I then picked up the bin of the memory clothes. “Alrighty then, go wash up!” I said and watched him race out of the room. I followed, but not without stopping to grab that shirt back out of the charity box and stuffing it into the bin. Someday I’ll learn how to quilt, I’m sure of it.

About Us

I have a son who is funny, adorable, smart and just happens to be a Little Person.  He was born with Achondroplasia; it is the leading cause of dwarfism. Thanks to many hard-working and talented people, the public at large has become more familiar with persons of short stature.  Still, there are many misconceptions, misunderstandings and questions that average stature people have. I’d like to answer some of them.

• Around 80% of babies born with dwarfism come from average stature parents.
• They are of the same intelligence as the more general public.
• They are surgeons, lawyers, teachers, athletes, artists, journalists, and almost every other profession you can think of.
• The unemployment rate is higher than any other able-bodied group of people.
• The “M” word, or “midget”, is offensive to most little people. It does not refer to any one type of dwarfism. It is just a bad word.
• My son has a disproportionate type of dwarfism, that means his upper arms and legs, for instance, are shorter than average. He is perfectly proportioned for who he is, but is not the same, proportion-wise as taller folks.
• Persons with Achondroplasia, (Achons), compare equally in intelligence, talent, and ability to get the job done.
• Achons have medical issues, but rarely ask for assistance. They do have the same life expectancy as anyone else.
Those are the some of the facts.

Here are some myths:

• Little people love poking fun at how they appear to others.
• Little people only date other little people.
• They must agree with being called a midget or treated as one because they are always on t.v. dressed up as funny characters.
• Dwarfs cannot handle themselves in the workplace; they scare clients away and are always absent. They need too much special equipment.

After over 10 years, of being a member of Little People of America, I’ve never met so many people with the high work ethics, lust for life and just plain stubbornness to do whatever needs to be done, as I have in this organization.

I answer questions on a daily basis, practically, about my son. Once I answer their questions, I explain to them that he is probably the only little person they will ever meet in their lives. This makes them smile, they are happy that I took the time to answer their questions. And they usually walk away with a special look on their face like they’ve just been let in on a really cool secret.
If my son is the one answering the questions, the reactions are amazing to watch. People want to shake his hand, and thank him for talking to him. Rarely do people end our encounters with the same attitude they began them. They don’t say “Well, I’ll pray for you” or “good luck to you”. They end as all conversations should, “It was nice to meet you.”

My son and I were talking about it one day, and I told him that it won’t always be this way. “Not everyone will like you.” I told him once. (He thinks he’s all that so he answered, “Who wouldn’t like me!”) I asked him to Google the “M” word. He looked at the millions of results with his jaw dropped and, after a few seconds, burst out laughing and said, “They think we’re aliens!”

I guess to a young boy, with a giant ego who’s not been out in the world yet, that can be funny. He will find out, it’s not. He thought we should call everyone and tell them he’s not an alien….I said that would cost a lot of money. So he said we should go tell my friends on Twitter and G+ and Facebook and he said he’d tell his friends at Boy Scouts. I told him that was a great idea!

Soooo….

I am gathering colleagues, friends, celebs, and supporters and asking them to help us tell people all about little people. I am asking them to gather their friends as well. My proposal is to have an awareness event in Chicago, a town close to my heart and central to the country. I am asking each one of you to jump on board.
The personal response by email, phone calls, and visits is already incredible and is much appreciated! I will keep asking for supporters and volunteers of time and talent to join me.
My son asked, “If people want to know, shouldn’t we help them to become aware?”
Well, you already know my answer…so, join me!  We’ll have a lot of fun in a great city and do some good!