Friday afternoon Avery and Harper were in the living room waiting for Emerson and me to join to read a chapter of Trumpet of the Swan.  Upon entering the room, Harper was crying…a true scared cry.  Apparently, Avery had taken her glasses off and Harper was scared of her eyes.  I was honestly dumbfounded at first.  Yes, Avery’s eyes move, and they are unique, but Harper is nearly seven years old…she has been living with Avery for nearly seven years and she just now noticed Avery’s eyes?  Say what?  Yes, Avery has worn glasses since she was three and her glasses somewhat mask the real appearance of her eyes, but Harper and Avery have shared a bedroom off and on over the year, they have showered together…. Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to bed, Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to in the shower!

My first instinct was to protect Avery’s feelings.  Avery took it like a champ though and told me that sometimes her friends call her eyes crazy and are intrigued by them….she shows them her eyes, they laugh about things, and then that is it.  That hurt my mama heart too but knowing that Avery has learned implemented skills necessary to respond to such questions and comments made my mama heart smile.  To my delight Emerson stepped in when it was clear I was still in disbelief that Harper had never noticed whatever it was she was noticing about Avery’s eyes that scared her.  Emerson stepped in and said, “well maybe Harper doesn’t understand why Avery’s eyes move…let’s explain it to her”. At that very second, Avery ran upstairs to get her book on nystagmus and for 20 minutes read each page beautifully.  She paused to explain how she relates to the characters and how she has used so many points in this book to explain things to her friends.  At the end of the book, Avery stood eye to eye with Harper and said “now for the most important part.  You need to see me without my glasses.”  She then took off her glasses and ensured that Harper took a good look.

There are times when it hurts my heart that Avery’s eyes are different but am so quickly reminded that different is unique and more importantly experiencing something differently opens up one’s ability to see outside society’s norm, to see beyond what we view to be normal.   It paves the ways for being openminded, inclusion, empathy, bravery, and kindness.

My mama heart had all the feels Friday afternoon, but most of all pure love for my girls.