On our second date, Trent took me home to meet his family. We walked in the front door and found his mom in the kitchen, busily attending to Trent's younger brother, Thad. To that point in my life, I was wholly unexperienced with physically and mentally disabled people. Upon my first meeting of Thad, who has been handicapped since birth, I felt a little uncomfortable. I didn't want to stare; I didn't know how not to stare; I didn't know how to react. Then I paused, and watched how all of Trent's family interacted around Thad. They rubbed his head, they kissed his cheek, they talked to him about where they were going and how they were feeling, they told him that they loved him. Their total acceptance and adoration of Thad made it possible for others to feel comfortable, too. And so, within a few moments of meeting Thad, I relaxed. *** In the long years leading up to meeting and marrying Trent, I was given a lot of promises about my future spouse by means of pri...
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