What It's Like to Be Him - Part One

I often wonder what it's like for Elijah to live in his body.  The older he gets the more obvious it is to me that he doesn't experience life the same way I do, the same way most of us do.  It's just different to live in his skin.  He sees things differently than I do.  As a result, I'm constantly trying to understand what it's like to be him.

One afternoon, I was trying to teach Elijah how to ride his trike.  He was interested for a short amount of time, but soon he got off the trike, ran to the garage and started to circle our vehicles...over and over and over again. He wasn't interested in riding his trike anymore...or anything else for that matter.

Let's be honest; I was annoyed.  Watching him get stuck on doing one thing that isn't really "play" is disheartening, especially since I was trying to teach him something fun. And then I realized...our vehicles provided some really amazing reflections.  I didn't notice it at first because I wasn't really looking.  I wasn't seeing things the way Elijah saw them.  I saw two cars.  He saw the coolest mirrors ever.

Elijah causes me to look more, to try and see the world through his eyes.  Stepping in his shoes helps me understand why some things are difficult for our little man.

Our boy has a hard time with curbs.  He doesn't really see them.  But open your eyes.  Can you see them?  This is the end of our yard and the beginning of the culdasac in front of our house...Do you see a curb there?...

If I didn't know that there was a curb there, I wouldn't be able to see it.  Now imagine you're a little boy who loves to run and has a visual impairment, would you be able to see that curb?  Even for me (an adult with no visual impairment), it's more a matter of me knowing that the curb is there than actually seeing it.  It looks flat in real life too, not just in this picture.

Sometimes stepping back and picturing what it's like to be Elijah is beneficial.  It makes me open my eyes a little more, it helps me understand the obstacles Elijah faces, and makes me appreciate the things I can see around me.

Speaking of appreciating, did you see my German Irises in the above photo?  I'm madly in love with my flowers around my mailbox. Take a closer look...

The guy at the greenhouse said they smell like grape jelly.  And he was right.  Mmm, grape jelly flowers. Look even closer...now go smell some grape jelly at the same time and you'll have the full experience. :)

We all benefit from opening our eyes a little more and seeing things differently, don't we?

Tweet