Mommy, my muscles don't work?

Well, Jeff and I knew that the questions would be coming soon from Caleb about why he's "different" than other kids. It still caught me somewhat off-guard when it actually happened, though.

Today we had a wonderful day at Sea World. We watched the Shamu show, and the Pet's Rule show, looked at the turtles, and just had fun seeing all the sights. On the way home, out of the blue Caleb says, "Mommy, my muscles don't work?" I was a little floored, and didn't quite know how to answer my little boy. We have always been open with other inquisitive children in front of him that ask, "Why is he in that?" (referring to his walker or his wheelchair). Our answer has been that his muscles "don't work as well as theirs, so he needs this to help him walk/get around."

As I stumbled over my words trying to explain that his muscles had a harder time working, he started moving his arms and said, "My muscles work, see!" I stumbled a little more, then Jeff jumped in and explained that his muscles just work differently than other people's. "Oh," is all he said. Then he was on to the next subject. There was a peace about the question he asked and the answers he received. We know more questions are around the corner. Hopefully, we will have the guidance that brings him toward acceptance for the beautiful soul he is.