i forgot that i had one more facebook morsel to share, which i do realize takes me further from my
seven sentences goal. a friend forwarded a message they received from another facebookian they didn't know. here's a name-protected version of the message:
Subject: Hello from another [smith]
Hello! I enjoyed checking out your facebook page. I read a few of your entries. Is your son, [john], special needs per chance? A couple of your entries referred to his developmental milestones which is exactly the type of thing we say about our son, [ted], who is special needs.
Again, enjoyed checking-out the site.
i fear i'm unable to share the exact wording of my friend's message to me because i don't think i'm able to sanitize it enough for this public space without it losing all meaning or coherence. the gist of his message was simply asking how one should respond to an inquiry of this nature.
as far as conversational mis-steps go i put this right up there with asking a woman who is not pregnant what trimester she's in or when the child is due. i've been lucky enough to witness one of those first hand and for however uncomfortable the next few minutes were, i gotta say i'd rather be dealt that (says the man) than asked if my child, who is not mentally disabled, is mentally disabled.
after pondering my friend's fix for a moment i suggested he say no, his child is not special needs and that after receiving her inquiry he looked at her page and wondered if she is expecting again or is merely struggling with the baby weight from her last child.
and yes, my mother did raise me better than that (she would have asked me to share this point with you).
and yes, these sage advice services are also available to you. and get this, they're completely free of charge. i know, thoroughly unbelievable.
