a work visit with Daddy

Recently, M visited my husband's office with him. He doesn't work particularly close to home, so our interaction with that group is more limited than some. With as much as I am immersed in our a-typical child situation, I believe his angle on it is not easy, either. As his coworkers, mostly women, talk about their children, they are very in tune to developmental stage, typical curriculum, etc. Often, he stays quiet, even though he is not a quiet or shy man. When he is asked about our daughter, he answers them, but has told me that he goes through the same questions about what and how much to share. Without being in the middle of it, the situation and world with kids like these is difficult to understand and easy to misinterpret.

 During their visit, M started talking and my husband reported that there was a suddenly a circle of 8 people surrounding them, "because what 8 year old talks like that?" in his words. One of his coworkers is more involved in our lives than others, and has had a more similar background, as well as more involvement with M. The same night, I got a text from that woman saying, M "at work was the highlight of everyone's day. I was honestly blown away at how amazingly she conducts herself with a whole group of adults. . ." It's so nice to get genuine feedback that is positive from someone who has no agenda. I am so glad that there are wonderful people working with my husband. I'm also glad he was able to give them a glimpse of our amazing girl, in his own way - without pretense.

More recently, kids came up in a team meeting, and M was included in the discussion.  The term "genius" was thrown out there, which made my husband squirm.  Before he could  formulate an appropriate response, he was cut off with "no 8yo goes around saying ______" - they used one of her most common phrases here. It was not intended as anything but neutral and matter-of-fact.  It can still be uncomfortable.  I am still thrilled to have visited with M and to see so many broad smiles as people flock to talk to her when we arrive.  It's nice to be welcome.