Mallory's Vest

Having a sister with special needs provides the wonderful opportunity to teach my kids about how we are all special and unique and we should love and appreciate the differences in people. Ben has had a lot of questions about Aunt Mal-Mal lately and it is hard for me to put into words my thoughts on Mallory and how much I love her and how badly I want him to love and appreciate her. Ben, for the most part, really enjoys time spent with Mallory, but emotionally and developmentally they are awfully close in "age" and thus sometimes butt heads. Ben gets frustrated with Mallory, Mal finds Ben to be annoying, etc., etc. Mal is more slow motion and Ben is all systems go all the time so it is hard for them to find a happy medium in which to play. Last night while making dinner, Ben and Joey were at the kitchen table playing with play-doh and coloring and Ben said "I know why Mal-Mal can't write. She has a vest." Huh? Upon further questioning and Ben's repeated insistence that "Mallory can't write because Nana said she has a vest she wears" I finally was able to decode his words and said "Do you mean Mallory has a disability?" Oh yea, Benjamin says, that's it! No idea how a vest came from disability but there you have it,