ODD

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else."

-Judy Garland

My son Landon eats his strawberries a little differently than most people. 
He takes one bite from each berry, and then starts over with the first one. 
Earlier today I needed him to occupy himself for fifteen to twenty minutes.  Most parents would turn on the TV (and sometimes, that works for him) but instead, I handed him a University of Chicago Spanish/English dictionary and he sat on the floor and looked through it until he found and identified each letter.
He is just like most kids.  He loves M&M's, and Lightning McQueen, avoiding bed time, and getting his way.
But there are certain things about him that identify him which most people would say are odd, and I guess maybe that's accurate based on the definition of odd, but I find his oddness refreshing and wonderful.
How many two year olds refer to their baby brother as "Babaganush?"
Most likely, there are things about all of us that would appear odd to an outsider.  I typically don't advertise the fact that I tuck my pajama pants into my socks sometimes so they don't ride up my leg when I toss and turn.  Many people also don't know that I really don't like my foods to touch each other on the plate....it kind of ruins my appetite.
These are the things about us as individuals that either attract or repel other people.  I once found it hard to befriend a co-worker who did this annoying thing with her hair.  She was nice, but I just couldn't get past it.  I wasn't rude to her obviously, but I simply did not invest any time in getting to know her because of a stupid quirk. 
I guess I've realized at some point between then (I was sixteen) and now that you can't always judge people based on their little quirks. 
But thanks to Landon I'm seeing it in a new way.
What if some kid in preschool won't talk to my son because of how he eats his strawberries? 
What if he's labeled as weird or odd?
What if it hurts his feelings that someone doesn't like him because of a part of who he is?
That would break my heart, probably more than it would hurt him.  Because I know how truly awesome he is and that anyone will be lucky to call him a friend.  (Unless he's in need of a nap, in which case he still has to work on his sharing skills, but he'll get there.)
I'm not living in a dream world.  I know that someday someone is going to be mean to him, and judge him because he's a little odd, and probably even miss out on becoming his friend.
But if I'm a good mom at all, I'll teach him not to do what I did.
When I was in first grade, there was this boy in my class that ate all the elements of his sandwich individually.  Sometimes in the same order, sometimes not, but he would eat the meat rolled up, and then the cheese, kind of folded, and then ball up the bread and eat that.
I did become his friend...I found it awesome that he had his own genius way of doing things.  Hard to believe just ten years later at my first job I'd feel so differently about somebody being a little different.
I want my kids to always judge people from that six year old point of view.  I want them to be open to people's differences, even if they are judged by others for it.
I hope I give them the tools to deal with that if it happens.
I want them to feel comfortable enough in their own skin to accept other people as they are.
I want them to seek out their own path and follow it, and to recognize that sometimes being just like everyone else doesn't mean you're being the best you, even if doing that makes them a little odd.