A Birthday Party (Somewhat) Unlike Others

One day, the Lightning Kid received an invitation to a birthday party.  He had been to other parties in the past, but this one was different - it came from a classmate at school.  This party was not being held by friends of the King and Queen, nor by classmates of Shark Boy who had opted to include younger siblings.  The Lightning Kid was being invited on the merits of his own friendship.

The King and Queen were thrilled.  And they felt strange about being thrilled; the Lightning Kid was well liked within his class, and certainly the other toddlers had no understanding of his difference - why shouldn't he be invited?  Still the Royal parents could remember their darker days when they were wrestling with having been delivered the news that the Lightning Kid was different than other children.  At the time they tried to consider every potential implication, and a big one was what kinds of friendships would he have if he was so different from other children?

The big day came and the Queen took the young prince to the party.  He was greeted with cheers and smiles and returned those greetings with high-fives (for the adults) and hugs (for his friends).

The party had balloons, a ball pit to jump and crawl around in, slides to descend, and cupcakes for sharing.  As could be expected, the Lightning Kid was all smiles for the duration of the party.
The biggest smiles though, were probably on the faces of the Queen while she observed all this, and the King when he had the story related to him later.  

The Queen wrote the birthday boy's mother a thank-you message the next day, explaining how much it meant to her and the King to have their son invited that way, and the reasons why.  The boy's mother wrote back the next day:

To be honest when I first saw the Lightning Kid joined the class it made me happy - I was glad that the school catered to everyone (it made me like them even more) but also happy that our son was in a diverse classroom....I know as you said kids don't really understand these kinds of differences right now but I think and hope that it will help in ensure in the future they treat everyone the way they should be treated.

This, naturally, led to even bigger smiles for the King and Queen.

Guess who's going home? The #LightningKid that's who!

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On the way to the hospital for breakfast vwith the #LightningKid. It's getting hard to remember my parking space from having visited so many times. Today I will spend more time with him there #TeamHoodie

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I've never seen the #LightningKid this lethargic before. Fever isn't too bad, but damn the flu. Send us your #GetWellSoon thoughts please.

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Hugs As A Way To Travel

It was the Eve of New Year, and the Lightning Kid was at a party hosted by his Grandfather with his brother and parents.  Shark Boy was having a fine time running about his grandfather’s castle and being unruly enough to frighten the guests.  The Lightning Kid was behaving in a similar fashion, though somehow it was better received - this is the difference between being 4 years old and being 2 years old.

The other difference in the ages was that a 2 year-old gets watched by his parents a lot more closely.  He constantly found himself blocked from going into this corner or that corner, from grabbing this drink glass or that person’s pant leg by either the King or Queen throughout the early parts of the evening.  This didn’t really suit his ambitions for the evening, so he hatched a plan.  He noticed a great number of people congregated near where drinks were being served (How odd).  He simply invaded the forest of legs, where is father would be unable to follow...

There.  I did it.  Now he can’t follow me... he can’t even see me...

...and I can’t see him.  I guess I don’t like that so much.

Let’s see what I can do about this.

You there! Would you like to pick me up?  I’m a prince, and I’m reaching up to you, now bend down here and lift, will you?

Yes, you can get a hug.  Now, where’s my father?

Ah there he is.  You there, lady, you’re closer to my father than this fellow, would you like a hug?  I’ll lean over to you from here, be sure to catch me.  Thanks, here’s your hug.  Unfortunately, you’re still 2 people away from my father.  NEXT!

And so he moved from person to person, swinging like a monkey in a tree, from hug to hug until he was safe in his father’s arms.  Until the next time he felt like dashing off...

The Power of a Hug

One day, outside the waiting room of the Lightning Kid’s chief healer, he ran up to a large man sitting on a couch, climbed the couch, and hugged the man.  The Queen was with him, and had seen this sort of thing before.  The Lightning Kid was very free with his hugs in general, yet it became somewhat unpredictable as to who would become his next target at any given time.  People with the same condition as the Lightning Kid were somewhat known for this sort of behaviour, and while the King and Queen disliked stereotypes, they knew there were worse qualities to have.  Still, although there had never been a negative reaction to this, the Queen braced herself for the potential consequences of this unsolicited incursion into the man’s personal space from a cute (if somewhat snot-encrusted) toddler.

No bracing, however, could prepare her for the sight of the man fighting back tears as he said:

"Little buddy, thank you so much! I can't remember the last time I received a hug! You have no idea how much you just made my day!"

While it’s sad to think of what the man’s circumstances might have been that he would be in such desperate need of a hug, it’s nice to think that a change can come from such an unlikely, yet simple place.

From our family to yours, Happy New Year.  Consider yourselves all a virtual recipient of a hug courtesy of the Lightning Kid.

Seeing The Ability

During the days, when the King and Queen were busy, the boys were well-cared for.  To mark the season, parents of all children at the school were invited to a Yuletide party.  The children in Shark Boy’s class put on a little concert of singing, which was made even more adorable by red painted noses and antler head-gear.  The King and Queen attended Shark Boy’s classroom of fun, with the expectation that there wouldn't be much to see from the toddlers in the Lightning Kid’s class.

Still, the Queen felt guilty about abducting the Lightning Kid from his classroom and decided to take him back while the King and Shark Boy feasted on healthy snacks.  In the Lightning Kid’s classroom, the children were engaged in a craft activity to make a star.  As she was crouching down beside him, working on his star, his teacher came over to her and her me gently: "You don't need to help the Lightning Kid with his craft. Give him a chance and he can do it on his own. He has worked on many crafts like this during class time and when he wants or needs help he knows how to ask for it". The Queen was so impressed and amazed with the teacher!

It served as a healthy, timely reminder that we might all need.  It’s always important to see the ability in others.