The Greatest Gift...

One October evening long ago my dear mentor friends Joseph, Jackie, Ella, Nora, and me stood before the flames of a small fire.  In my hands I held a large piece of posterboard I had made months earlier.  

"Are you ready?" asked Joseph.

"Yes."

"First Adelaide, I want you to know how proud I am of your courage and the miracle of what you achieved.  We all are, and we love you.  We celebrate this moment with you.  Remember this always." 

As I placed the posterboard onto the fire, I watched the flames symbolically burn the last painful remnant of my childhood from hell.  I was free.  And I WILL forever remember that moment...

Chantal wrote:  The greatest gift one can give to another person, is a deeper understanding of life, and the ability to love and believe in self.

The key words in my cherished quote above, are "the ability to love and believe in self."

Growing up in the horrendous childhood I had, didn't exactly instill a good self image, which further was not helped by also being the constant "object" of ridicule and rude comments out in public too.

I was very blessed though with the four amazing, dear mentor friends when I needed help the most while I was a young seventeen year old living on my own.  Each were many years older than me.

Joseph made me see how my upbringing and the onslaught of mean public ridicule caused me to carry 

"a dwarf card."  I was doing extraordinary things besides galloping across fields upon my horses, yet felt terribly helpless against the overwhelming negative feelings the rudeness kept evoking.

You see my mother blamed me for the way people stared and chanted "midget" at me with scorn.  She would rage at me constantly saying it was all my fault people did this.  What was a child like me supposed to do with THIS?

I later learned parents of a child with dwarfism pour on reassurance embracing the child in love, instilling within them from an early age their worth, their uniqueness and how special they are.  And to not let the staring or ugliness define who they are.  Most of all, showing how much they matter.

Joseph had me use my artistic abilities to make what he called a "Dwarf Card" on large poster board made to look just like a real credit card.  Only this "credit card" entitled one to feel.  He then had me list all the negative, paralyzing feelings which arose each time I was so rudely ridiculed.  

Then we went through them all one by one, discussing them.  One for instance was a feeling of deep shame.  Joseph made me see I had absolutely no reason to feel shame, especially with all the amazing things I could do and the strong person I am.  He enabled me to see how I was allowing strangers and all the ways my mother blamed me have power with their terrible words.

After we talked about all the things on my "dwarf card" one by one and worked through each one over a period of time we had that grand burning ceremony which became my "freeing" ceremony.  Through Joseph I slayed, and I mean SLAYED the dragon of my mother and the ugly deep pain the "midget" word had instilled within me.

All I needed was the right person to guide me when I needed it the most back then.  In fact all four of my dear mentor friends gave me a crash course with all 

the love, acceptance, and feelings of worth so sadly missing from my childhood.  They also taught me how to no longer fear being touched with violence, and what to be hugged was like.

I was given the greatest treasure I could ever be given then, for I was given the priceless ability to love and believe in self.

We are all unique, my dear ones.  May you love and believe in yourself.  Walk tall and embrace your very unique worth with gratitude...💫