I knew one day this would happen. I knew one day her loud squeals, the jumping up and down, the diaper peaking out of the pants would no longer pass as she’s just a toddler.

I’m noticing more looks from others. People staring at her as she passes by. People looking at the headphones while she’s in a pool, I even recently heard another child call her weird.

This summer I started noticing it. This summer I realized that others are now able to tell something is different about her.

Of course this makes me sad. I’m not sad that she appears different than others. Im sad for her. I’m sad that others stare because she acts different. I’m sad that our world is still at the stage where acting different means they need to be stared at. I’m sad that acting different automatically means weird.

But with every look and stare, I stop and think how brave she is to live each day in a world that’s still trying to understand her and others like her.