November 17 11

When I was asked by the lovely Alison Burke if my daughters would like to participate in a fashion show, I said yes immediately. If you have ever met either of my girls, the idea of getting dressed up in fancy clothes, having their hair and makeup done, prancing around on a catwalk and hanging out with models is nothing short of a dream come true. Some kids want to go to Disneyland. My kids want to be famous.

So, honestly, had it been a fashion show as a fundraiser for, say, a local gas station, I might have said yes.

But when I realized it was for Zareinu, there was no question. We were going to be there.

And needless to say, it was an incredibly moving experience.

To hear from a mother whose daughter Rachel—who has Rett Syndrome—walks when they thought she’d never sit up? Humbling.

To watch children with disabilities walk hand-in-hand with children without disabilities? Humbling.

To watch this?

humbling.

To sit in the car on the way home and talk to my kids about how amazing Zareinu is, how it really is a magical place that does amazing things for a lot of children and families, and have my six-year-old pipe up from the back seat that “all of the kids were the same, Mommy. I don’t know what you mean, special needs. We are all special, we all look the same, no one was different….”?

This was not only humbling; it had me weeping.

Children are amazing creatures, really.

My daughter didn’t see the things some people do. A different look, a different way of walking, a different way of talking. All of the kids there last night were special to her, they all got to dress up and go on the stage. And that’s all she noticed.

Not the differences, the SAMES.

 

Photography by George Pimentel, WireImage

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  1. Amazing!!!!!! I am dying at how grown up Emma is!!!!!! Thank you for posting this xoxo

    Comment by Charna on November 17, 2011
  2. They are both so grown up…I can’t even handle it.

    Comment by ali on November 17, 2011
  3. I am speechless ….. and trying really hard not to weep at work. I did not bring spare mascara. Damn.

    Comment by Rae Ann on November 17, 2011
  4. I am speechless….and trying hard not to weep…at work…where I do not have spare mascra, damn it!!

    Comment by Rae Ann on November 17, 2011
  5. Love this. Love.

    Comment by Angella on November 17, 2011
  6. Super cute. Were they nervous?! Doesn’t look like it at all. I’d be shaking in my boots! What lovely children you’ve got.

    Comment by Jen on November 17, 2011
  7. I’ve worked with adults with developmental disabilities for the past 11 years. I love it when people don’t treat them differently from everyone else. So fantastic that your daughter “gets it” from such a young age. They need to be the one’s to educate the older generations – like the lady I had come up to me in McDonald’s, point to a person I support and ask “what’s that one’s name?” I almost looked at her husband, pointed to her and asked the same thing!

    Comment by Katy on November 17, 2011
  8. Your kids, man. They’re so awesome.

    Comment by Meghan on November 17, 2011
  9. Sometimes they really, truly blow me away with their awesomeness.

    Comment by ali on November 17, 2011
  10. Out of the mouths of babes! You must have been so proud. And I hope that you take at least a little credit for yourself; you are teaching them well!

    Comment by JenLive on November 17, 2011
  11. beautiful on so many levels 🙂

    Comment by Chantal on November 17, 2011
  12. Through the eyes of a child. Wow. I love it.

    Comment by Katie on November 17, 2011
  13. I love the way kids see the world. When I was signing Liliana (4) up for ballet, she was running around with a 10-year-old girl with downs syndrome. I loved that Liliana didn’t see the downs, only saw that this was a kid who wanted to play with her.

    Your girls are gorgeous. They can sure rock a catwalk.

    Comment by Mrs. Wilson on November 17, 2011
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