Perspective

The other day, I wrote about Jared on the wrestling team, and while it has been one of the best experiences of his life, occasionally, something happens to abruptly jerk you back to earth. A few evenings ago, one of the boys on the team called Jared a retard during practice...retard, a word that has taken on such a new meaning for me over the years.  My first reaction was anger, then a bleakness that I have felt throughout the years when there has been one of those life hurdles. How could one of his teammates, a boy who had been on the team last year, drop one of the ugliest words Jared knows?  It's discouraging how many times we say things not realizing how certain words and phrases can cut through a person. Well, Jared cried, and a couple of the other boys told the offender that what he did was "really uncool".  I like how they stuck up for Jar. That's the good part of being on a team. The coaches found out, and the boy was properly dealt with. Jared said that by the end of practice, they did a bro hug, so I hope that boy learns- learns to think before saying things. Isn't that what we want all people to do? But the most interesting thing was Jared's comment when we asked him about the incident:  "I guess he wasn't at the assembly about shredding the "R" word, right Mom?" "Yeah," I said, "I guess he wasn't."