ill fitting crutches

and awkward supports

Each morning my phone flashes me memories. They arrive as welcome reminders of the wealth of my existence. The children that I share my world with are, and have been, quite delightful.

Today’s memory was about more than the photo. On this day, one of my children was marching and chanting in the most hilarious way. They were saying things that were fairly embarrassing and funny. I will spare them the details and frame it for you differently.

We were in the school yard. Some of the parents started looking at each other nervously, awkwardly. It was as though the oddity of what was happening somehow infected the bunch of them at a felt level. They all seemed to come to the same realization and judgement at the same time.

I could feel the recoil in their bodies. I also saw the delight of my child. My child whose behaviour was creating a mass felt sense of awkwardness. These are the moments where a person gets to define themself as a parent. Society has expectations for how people behave. Soc…