"Retard!"

As of just a little while ago, I became a member of a FaceBook group that advocates for children and adults with mental and physical handicaps. The group centers their advocacy around educating the public about using the term "retard" when referring to severely handicapped persons.

Here is the link for the group. Check it out if you are interested. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5039649875 (Please Don't Say "Retard")

My son, as some of my readers know, is deemed by our state as being handicapped. He has several mental disorders that affect his ability to have a "normal" life that his peers have. He struggles daily in some form or fashion with his symptoms, which are many to count.

At one time, I myself was legally deemed handicapped. I even had a special parking sticker for my parent's car. I required a tracheotomy from birth, until I was almost a teenager. And I also had required carrying around specialized equipment in the car where ever we went, in case I needed assistance with clearing my lungs.

There were countless times through those years that men, women and children alike would gawk and stare at me. They would point and snicker. There would be whispers here and there as well. And there was also the occasional "If that were MY kid, I wouldn't take IT out in public. Not when they are RETARDED like that".

Sometimes, it was loud enough that my parents could hear it plain as day. Those people WANTED THEM TO hear what they said.

Other times, people would say it low enough, thinking that they aren't being heard. All the while, my parents could hear them. Believe me. And those people knew it by the way my parents would cut their eyes and walk away. With their heads held high of course.

Words DO cut. They do HURT others. Especially when the words are used in an inappropriate, meaningfully hurtful, non-medical terms. Especially the word 'retard' or 'retarded'.

Here is the definition for "retarded"...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard

re⋅tard

 /rɪˈtɑrd, for 1–3, 5; ˈritɑrd for 4/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-tahrd, for 1–3, 5; ree-tahrd for 4] Show IPA

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–verb (used with object)

1.	to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.

–verb (used without object)

2.	to be delayed.

–noun

3.	a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.

4.	Slang: Disparaging. a. a mentally retarded person. b. a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.

5.	Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine so that the spark for ignition in each cylinder is generated later in the cycle.

Our new baby Great Niece and what she is already giving us as a family. The flashbacks started.

It never ceases to amaze me. Even though I myself have brought forth the world's future three times over.

But there is something to be said when it comes to seeing a new life come in to this old world of ours. With them, we hold the torch in hopes of a better tomorrow for the future. We hand them our dreams to grasp and make their own.

When eying my new Great Niece this morning, I flashed back to the days when I was the one in that hospital, in that bed, holding that new life within my arms. It hit me in my mind as if I just gave birth yesterday.

What made this birth even more "close" to me was that Kirra Sage was only an ounce off, as well as 1/2 an inch off from my oldest, Hayley's birth totals. That little tiny girl sent me back ten years in the space of about five minutes.

She is an adorable little thing. Chubby, round cheeks. Long legs that were just kicking up a storm when her Daddy placed her in the bassinet from her Mommy's arms.

Kirra was born at 5:58 this morning, weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces. She was also 20 1/2 inches long.

We all welcome this new bundle of happiness and joy in to the family. She was greatly anticipated. If only she knew just how big of a family she came in to. Then again, Kirra will know all too soon enough.

Thanks, Kirra (and Mama Kala) for bringing a little more love, joy, happiness and two more little feet in to our lives, not to mention, our hearts as well. We love you both, and Kirra's Dad, Jon as well. May you all have a happy, prosperous and joyous life as a family and an extended part of ours (and our hearts).