{"id":48627,"date":"2025-08-03T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=48627"},"modified":"2025-07-29T16:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T20:01:01","slug":"if-you-could-see-through-my-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/if-you-could-see-through-my-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Could See Through My Eyes\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dotting My Teas<\/strong> By: Marlene Oxender<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember where I was standing in our kitchen when my father came home from the hospital and needed to tell us something. I was only six years old. Dad had been given the task of informing his children that our new baby brother was born with Down syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember my questions and how Dad answered, telling us the baby was special. The baby wouldn\u2019t be going to kindergarten; he would be going to a special school. He would learn in a different way than the rest of us. I remember thinking that wasn\u2019t good, yet I knew everything was going to be okay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew there was nothing that could stop me from loving this baby. Mom just needed to bring him home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, I overheard Dad speaking to a relative at a family reunion. He was standing in the driveway outside of the family station wagon. I was in the car, and the windows were rolled down. I heard Dad say that Stevie was not expected to live past the age of five. He didn\u2019t know I\u2019d heard his words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it is easy for a young girl to create her own reality, that\u2019s what I did. According to me, Stevie would grow up with us, and I\u2019d be able to say, \u201cTold you so.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I was correct \u2013 Stevie lived 54 glorious years on this earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, I see the role I played in his life. Mom needed the older children to help her, and at the age of six, I was older than two of my ten siblings. I helped her take care of Jeanette and Stevie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve often thought those who are the baby of the family have a good thing going. In Stevie\u2019s case, life was good with ten older siblings who were interested in his well-being. And it quickly became apparent that everyone in the community wanted the best for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are those who are born into this world with the deck stacked against them. In Stevie\u2019s case, those around him were stacking the cards in his favor. They made life happen for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The neighborhood children knew our back yard was a place they\u2019d feel welcome. A place where a ball was always bouncing. They knew Stevie was different, but that didn\u2019t get in the way. Stevie learned to play ball, and he perfected his three-point shot while the rest of us hardly noticed what was happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was recently asked how old Stevie was when he learned to ride a two-wheel bicycle, and I do not know the answer. My siblings and I have plenty of memories and photos of Stevie on his Big Wheel, but none of us can remember when he started riding a bike. There must have been training wheels on his bicycle at one time. There must have been someone who worked with him so he could learn to keep his balance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevie became an uncle when he was seven years old, and his role as a babysitter came naturally to him as he helped take care of the children in his life. As his nieces and nephews grew up, the roles reversed, and they started looking after him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When others speak of Stevie\u2019s popularity, the conversation often centers around the way he viewed the world. With innocence. Without judgment.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Stevie noticed something different in another person, he told us they were \u201cborn that way.\u201d If he saw someone with a cast on an extremity, or walking with crutches, he\u2019d ask them what happened. It was fun to be a bystander and listen to their answers as they told their story. They likely felt a little healing power as Stevie took an interest in their plight.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevie didn\u2019t know what a car payment or mortgage was, but he liked to \u201chang out\u201d with those who wanted help washing their car or working in the yard. When all you want to do is hang out, there\u2019s always something to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it weren\u2019t for three-pointers, I would say Stevie didn\u2019t bother with the idea of impressing others. But in the case of basketball, it was more than okay to show others how it\u2019s done. If you didn\u2019t know the joy of watching a ball fly through the air on the way to where it\u2019s supposed to go, Stevie would help you out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe life has a scoreboard that tallies how many times we let others feel our positive energy. How many times we were content with just hanging out. How many times we stacked the deck in someone else\u2019s favor. How many times we knew everything would be okay. How many times we were able to say, \u201cTold you so.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlene Oxender is a writer, speaker, and author. She writes about growing up in the small town of Edgerton, her ten siblings, the memorabilia in her parents\u2019 estate, and her late younger brother, Stevie Kimpel, who was born with Down syndrome. Her three published books, Picket Fences, Stevie and Grandma, You Already Am Old, are available on Amazon. Marlene can be reached at mpoxender@gmail.com <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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