just a few.(and by a few I mean a few hundred). He met Ally and Heather, and he may have asked Heather to snap a few pictures of him. In one single second, my Uncle had a whole new network of friends and people who loved him all thanks to Gigi’s Playhouse. He met Julie – who has the warmest smile… he met Jessica and Grace, who he thought were just too cute. That was the moment I knew my Uncle had found something he had missed out on during his childhood. Mikey became like a big brother to Sonny and in just a quick moment, it seemed they had known each other for their whole lives. He met Sonny – a young man who gave him perhaps the biggest hug ever. I remember the first time Uncle Mikey joined me at Gigi’s Playhouse, he just smiled, and smiled, and smiled some more… asked where the ice cream he was promised was (because Gigi’s Playhouse throws some rocking ice cream parties) and he smiled some more. He walked in the door to hugs, to smiles, to warmth, and to genuine love. The struggle lived on and Mikey smiled through it.Īnd then – Gigi’s Playhouse happened, and I think Mikey would agree that it is pretty darn close to perfection there. It wasn’t for lack of trying, my family tried everything they possibly could to give Mikey the life he deserved.Įventually, things began to get better for individuals with developmental disabilities, but they were far from perfect. It was what my grandmother was forced to do for her son to promote acceptance and awareness in any way possible.
Perhaps one thing that kept his smile glowing was the special time he spent with his mother each night singing “His Banner Over me is Love”.Īs a young child I can remember my Uncle Mikey going to “work” – a type of work study program for individuals with developmental disabilities in which he made very little money to sit around and do very easy tasks, to be pretty blunt about it. He grew, he loved, he struggled, and he persevered. There were class rooms – four walls, a few desks, and students who were considered unequal – my Uncle Mikey being one of those students. There were no Down syndrome awareness groups, there were no service agencies, there were no teen groups, music classes, or even social inclusion. After all, there was no Gigi’s Playhouse then!Įleanor Cota is no longer with us, but her legacy lives on within her son and it is because of her that I am able to share these stories sadness, triumph, success, compassion, pain, struggle, and, love with you all. It breaks my heart and my eyes begin to swell as I think of the way in which my uncle struggled during his early years of life. Thank goodness he was born to an amazing woman, Eleanor Cota, who began an endeavor to make sure the world accepted and loved her beautiful son, but that endeavor did not come without challenges. My good friend, Julie Tenant, would call it the Love Chromosome – and after almost 42, Mikey has shown that love in tremendous amounts.
#A story about my uncle a dead cristal full
Let’s start with the beginning of the story, first…īorn November 1st, 1972, Michael Edward Cota was brought into a world that was not accepting of him, a world that was full of ignorance, hate, and a complete lack of understanding of the beauty, love, and compassion that came along with his extra chromosome. BUT! If I mentioned every single wonderful thing about my uncle, the readers of this blog would have to sit at their computers, phones, or tablets for roughly a month to get to the end of the story. I struggle to think of the perfect way to start this as there are so many things I could say. Here is one such story shared by another Playhouse, do you care to share your story?
We all have our heartwarming stories of acceptance, perseverance, and triumph. Educator Symposium – See link for more details.GiGi’s Playhouse Atlanta Thanks our 2021 Sponsors.One-on-One educational tutoring – Learn more and enroll.One-On-One Math Tutoring – Learn more and enroll.One-On-One Literacy Tutoring – Learn more and enroll.Programs Overview – See what our programs are about.Our Programs – See the programs our location offers.
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