Challenged Cheer

I'm sure the kids I worked with today
have bad days...but they were so
pleasant to me, especially when
contrasted with the particularly
snarky teens I've come
across recently. I mean, really.
You haven't learned how to
just be quiet at school YET?

Courteous, caring,
poised, polite,
friendly, focused.
Different sort of student,
that's for sure.
Mentally challenged?
Choose your labels carefully.
Depends on one's perspective,
frame of reference, who you know.
These kids would win, I think,
competing with some others
I could mention but will not,
if categories were kept to things like
kindness and respect,
trying really hard, good cheer.
Developmental disability
has its downside, sure,
but when you talk of attitude,
there's an awful lot of up.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2013