My sweet, sweet daughter

Delaney has a friend who she wants to come to her birthday party.  The little girl had broken her foot and since Delaney was having a skating party, was unsure if she should invite her friend as she didn't want her to feel bad because she couldn't skate.  I saw the mother and child at another birthday party and spoke with the mother.  Delaney was very pleased to hear she would be having her cast removed a week before the party and would be able to come.  Off they skipped happily together.....as much as a casted foot would allow.

What I immediately saw when I met this child was that she obviously has a lot of medical issues.  Her gait unsure.  Her face clearly showing bone structure abnormalities.  I, of course, said nothing but felt so sorry for the little girl who would grow up having problems.

What I found though as I watched them play was that Delaney didn't see any of that.  The only thing she has ever noticed was that she was missing a single finger on her one hand.  Not the facial abnormalities.  Not the gait.  Not the delays.  A simple single finger.

It reminded me of another little boy in school she is friends with.  I met him last year in the school hallway.  He is extremely handicapped and cannot walk.  Mainly wheelchair bound and shorter than the other children.  Delaney talked about him like he was her best friend.  He was cute.  He was kind.  He was her friend. They often played together on the school playground.

It reminded me of when we went to Ronald McDonald house to make a dinner and Delaney happily played with the children who were there for medical reasons.  Children without legs.  Children with a lot of handicaps. Children with medical issues beyond my understanding.  Never once did she shy away or question it.

It reminded me of Grams and who Delaney loved playing with her even in the mist of her dementia.  Or the older people in the assisted living with her who Delaney made friends with each visit. Elderly people who she laughed with, danced for and took their hands to walk with.

I joked often that I was going to rent Delaney out to nursing homes but the truth is, Delaney has a gift way beyond many children.  I realized my daughter sees something far beyond what we would focus on or see.  Nothing really seems to matter. She sees beyond the surface and just accepts.   This child coming to her birthday party was simply her friend.  They laughed and giggled together.  Delaney was so happy she would be able to come.  I came to see that Delaney has a special gift of simply loving someone for who they are.  The old, the senile, the handicapped, the person most would shy away from due to lack of understanding.  She simply.....

.........loves.

It is a special gift indeed.