I Made You Look
Megan Trainor has moved in! Well, at least her song has – I Made You Look. Yup, it seems to be a recent mainstay in our home. Ahh, but there’s a twist! A disability – cerebral palsy twist. I know what you’re thinking – okay Glenn, what are you talking about?! Let me explain, recently Jacob came home from school. He says to me with excitement, Hey Dad! You know the song I Made You Look by Megan Trainor? Yeah, I changed the words. I‘m thinking oh gosh WHAT is going to come out of this boy’s mouth! I present to you the world premiere of I Made You You Look – Disability Style! Here are the lyrics. Follow along to his video.
I look good in my wheelchair
And my cerebral palsy body
But even with disability
I made you look
I don’t believe this song was just a random thing. I believe a light bulb went off and the song presented itself as a vessel to get his thoughts and feelings out.
When you begin to have a realization it can be like a 3 way light bulb. The thing you are beginning to realize starts out dim like a thought in passing but then as time passes what you realized is clear as bright sunny day. I believe my son’s realization that his dad is ‘different’ has become clear and he’s not mad about it. It’s not to say it has just started, his realization actually began about 6 years ago which I shared in an earlier post.
All kids are embarrassed by their parents whether it’s what we wear, what we say….or simply our mere presence! My son being embarrassed of me because of my disability was 1 of a 1,000 things going through my head early on in this crazy journey of fatherhood. I am relieved that my disability is not an embarrassment to him. My dad jokes, well that’s another story! However, I do see that he is noticing the stares that people give me and how rude people can be toward disability.
A couple of weeks prior to Thanksgiving, Jacob asked me to come to the school’s holiday luncheon which was the week prior to Thanksgiving. When I arrived at his school for lunch I could tell he was excited to see me but something seemed a bit off. He seemed a little nervous and fidgety. His teacher gave him the option for him and I to sit with the class or a table off to the side. He chose off to the side, He has a really good teacher and is aware of his anxiety. Now that I look back I’m wondering if she was picking up on the same vibes as I.
I mentioned to my wife that Jacob seemed really nervous. She is really good at pulling information out of Jacob. Later that night, during ‘mom and son’ time she discovered he was nervous about the other kids making fun of me.
Are you a parent with a disability? Has your child/ren expressed their thoughts on disability through unique ways? Join the conversation comment on this post or through Facebook and Instagram @wheelchairdaddy .
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