So you’ve heard the why (if not, check it out HERE and then come back), but you may be wondering about the what.
What is macygilson.com?
What message am I sharing with the world?
What inspired me to start this community?
Well, today, you’ll get your answers. This idea was dug up from the deepest corner of my heart. The corner where I would place all the stuff I wanted to share someday, but would pile negativity, self-consciousness, and doubt on top of it...so much so, that I started this website five months ago, but just got the courage to share it with all of you this week.
This corner of my heart is home to the ideas I am sharing with you on this website. The idea that kindness is a policy everyone can vote for. The idea that differences are what makes this world so incredible. The idea that disabled doesn’t equate to less than.
I grew up in a community where respect was valued more than anything else. Respecting my teachers, respecting my coaches, respecting my parents….the list goes on. I still hold the belief that respect is one of the most important qualities we can instill in our children. I also believe that our idea of respect gets twisted sometimes.
Picture this:
A mom is in the grocery store with her five year old and she turns the corner to see another mom pushing her daughter in a wheelchair. Her child sees the same thing and says (loudly), “Mom, why is that girl in a wheelchair?”
If you’re a mom, or you’ve even remotely encountered a similar situation, you probably just died of humiliation for that mother. Maybe you’ve been faced with answering that question yourself, or maybe you’ve watched another parent try to explain that answer. Either way, you know the feeling I’m talking about. The mortifying what do I do - who else heard him - what kind of parent am I feeling. You may be thinking about how disrespected that other mother must feel, about how disrespectful your child is, or even about how disrespectful you are for raising a child that would dare ask such a thing.
But here’s the deal…
kids ask questions!
And they don’t do it to be disrespectful. They do it to learn. They do it to feed their innocent, child-like curiosity. Somehow our idea of respect has changed from “yes ma’am” and manners to “my child better not embarrass me” in public.
The problem here is that we are setting the example that differences make us embarrassed, or, dare I say, differences make us uncomfortable. How are we supposed to teach our children to be comfortable with something that we, as adults, are uncomfortable with? The first step to teaching our children to be comfortable around people that look or act different from them is to become comfortable ourselves.
Let’s stop looking away when we see someone different than us … Let’s smile and say hello.
Let’s stop telling our children we will “talk about it when we get home” … Let’s explain it to them.
Let’s stop asking our little ones to be braver than we are … Let’s be the change.
This is my what. This is what I want to share with the world. I want to share resources and ideas and stories to help parents and educators raise up a generation that is kinder, more accepting, and more compassionate than ours. I want this to be a place where people from all different walks of life, family dynamics, and unique abilities come to be lifted up, inspired, and prepared to be the example our children deserve.
