The Cringe 🥵

Last year in 2020, when my daughter Violeta was 3 years old, we went to the park near our apartment. The building where we used to live was very, very old, so many older people lived there too, and a lot of the seniors had no limbs or were in a wheelchair. 

So, we were down at the lobby of the building, and a man that didn’t have one of his legs pass by next to us. It was the first time that my daughter saw a person who was missing a limb, and she was very surprised, I still can remember her face! I realized how intrigued she was and in my mind I was like “please don’t say anything loud”, but of course, she did. She started asking something like “where is his paw?” And yes, she said PAW, not even leg. She kept asking innocently, so I told her quietly to stop asking that so loud, and she responded louder “BUT WHERE IS HIS PAW??!”. I was so embarrased! My face was red and I felt so bad for that person. But also I knew she was just asking by curiosity, and fortunately he understood it too. 

Then we had a conversation about the fact that there are people that don’t have all their limbs, just like there are people that are skinny, fat, tall or short, and that it was okay. At least the situation, however embarrassing it was, converted in a teachable moment.