Dear Cameron,
I lay next to you this morning, watched you awaken and begin your morning giggle, cuddle and glee at the possibilities of the day before you. Your excitement at the sunrise, and the joy you find in picking out your outfit for today.
“Mama, I am wearing a pretty skirt today because I am pretty”.
Yes, my darling, you are. And yes, you are the superhero you believe you are. I believe that. You are loved and cared for and every person you meet, is astounded by your love for every aspect of life. You are my hero in a princess skirt.
But, Cameron, not every child is as lucky as you. Not every child has been embraced like you have. This is sad hey? Every child born is proof that the Big Dude upstairs has not given up on us stupid humans, yet. Still, humans are ugly and stupid.
You see, Cameron, some children are born what some people would term “different”. You know how I feel about that though. Every one is their own type of hero. So there are children out there who are just like you, and are their own hero.
A lot of people out there though, don’t think like that.
They think that if someone is a specific type of hero, they aren’t worth including. That they aren’t worth attention. That they aren’t worth the same status or love.
That’s just ridiculous, isn’t it?
I know of a boy, and he knows of you. His name is T. T is a wonderful boy. He is brave and outspoken, he loves life and his mommy loves him so much. His teacher is his hero, and he believes in fairies, just like you do.
He goes to school, just like you do. He has friends, just like you do. At night, he goes to bed and dreams of wonderful things, just like you do.
His mommy and daddy and teacher are so brave. They work very hard to help him be the hero they all know he is. And he is, every day. He just needs a little extra love and a little extra care. Not anything different, just specific love for the specific hero that he is. Just like you. The love you give and receive is for you, and given and received in the way only you create it.
You see, Cameron, T has something that makes people look at him differently. Big people call it Autism. It makes people look at him funny, or think that he is not the same as them.
Luckily for T and children who are also his type of hero, there are big people out there who believe in him. T is a lucky one. His mommy and daddy and teacher are determined, with every breath, to help him and guide him as best he can in this big wide world. Not every hero like T is as lucky.
So, it’s really good news that those heroes have a hero like Gerhard Pieterse. Gerhard has locked himself up in a jail cell and asked people to “bail” him out, in order to raise money to help the heroes out there like T. Gerhard is a hero, too. Gerhard believes, so much, in every one of those heroes, that he left his family and locked himself up until such time as they have enough money to help all those heroes like T out there.
My Cameron, there are heroes every day. And I know you, like me, hope that people see what a hero Gerhard is, and help him.
If you are a big person and want to help Gerhard be a hero to help heroes all over the country, please click here
What a beautiful post C@th!
Hugs to the little Cam-superheroine! 🙂
Thank you, “When all of us help each other just a little bit who would need help”, I am just a guy blushing being called a hero. You and Cam are the hero’s for doing.
bless your heart Gerhard. X
What a beautifully written msg Cath! I am a Mom of a 7yr old little girl who has Autism and I couldn’t have put it better if I tried. Thank you for the smile between the tears today and more importantly thank you for supporting Gerhard Pieterse with his Jail4Bail project. Much appreciated, again thank you and well written!
Bless you and your family Claire. May you be imbued with strength and smiles.
Thanks for your kind words. X
Cath, your daughter has an unbelievably cool name! 😉
Sorry…lurking I know.
My biggest “problem” with this jail4bail thing is the prize. People shouldn’t need to be able to win a prize when doing something like this. There is so little asked but people still want a return. Yes, it’s a great idea and yes I will be supporting it, but my faith in humanity wains a little when I see things like this.
Help because you can, not because you want a shiny new scooter out of it.
lurking’s allowed. it’s mutual lurkage.
on that note though, humans suck. if you want them to do something good or worthwhile, you have to offer them something back. its the capitalist BS way. that little jiggly in their heart that they get for doing something good means nothing unless they get a little sticker to say “i did some good today” or a shiny scooter. i didnt donate, i wrote. if it means people do donate because i wrote, great. if it means people read what i wrote, saw they could win a scooter and donated because they can win a scooter, then id rather they bought a homeless person a sandwich with their ten rand and went on their way.
thanks for you insight. x
@Ches hello mr pillow. Yes, she does doesnt she!! whaha
what a fabulous endeavour!
i have a hero like that in my family- his name is nathan, and you can visit him here (http://nathansfanclubpage.blogspot.com/) if you’d like to!
ooh- and don’t forget about casual day!