My Little Trooper

As a parent there are things that are extremely hard for me.  Every morning I drop Logan off with his class and then I go to the office, sign in, walk Alex to the gym, tell him goodbye, go back to the office, sign out, and leave.  Every morning I ask him if he wants to walk by himself -- his answer is always, "Please come with me."  I don't mind walking with Alex -- if he wants me to walk with him I'm more than happy to do so.  There have been mornings when he sees children in his class and I will hear him say hi to these children.  There is always excitement in his voice when he says "hi" to them.  Many of the little girls say "hi" back and most of the boys just look at Alex.  There have been many days when I will ask Alex if he wants to walk to the gym with his "friend" and his face will light up and he hurries to catch up with these children.  A few are more than happy to walk with Alex, to talk to Alex, and to acknowledge him.  Most, however, aren't as kind.  Alex hurries to catch up and they don't wait for him.  He talks to them and they ignore him.  When I hear him say, "It's me, Alex," I feel a mixture of hurt and anger.   On days like this I walk to the car, leaving my child, and feeling a sting of sadness.  I would love to walk up to these children and say, "Do you hear him talking to you?  Respond to him!"  As a mother I know that Alex needs to learn to deal with these situations on his own -- I am also aware that as he gets older it is only going to get worse. No one said parenting was easy -- it definitely isn't easy.  I don't understand how children in Pre-K and Kindergarten -- children who are still so young -- can already be hurting each others feelings, being rude and mean to each other.  It blows my mind.  Do parents no longer teach their children to be nice to others?  Do they see their parents being rude or mean to other people -- teaching them that this is acceptable behavior?  I am sure these children don't mean anything by it -- it's early, they may be tired or just not looking forward to being at school again.  I don't know.  I do know that when my child puts forth the effort it would be nice to see children respond in a more positive way.  Alex is 6 years old now and is always telling me that he "talks different from other kids" and he can't do things they do.  He is aware of the differences and I am always telling him that these differences are what make him so special -- he's like a super hero!  His face lights up at the thought of being like a super hero.  And, in my eyes, he is.  He never complains about all of the therapies he needs and he never complains when something in class is easy for everyone else but not for him.  I have always said he is my trooper -- he just keeps trucking forward, doing what he has to do.  His teacher says he is well-liked by the other children in the class, which is great.  I wish that would extend to the "out of class" realm as well.  He doesn't let it phase him -- it bothers me more than it bothers him -- and this is why he is my little trooper and I couldn't be more proud of him.