Blanket Fort Conversations: Getting Real

📱 Rotate your phone sideways for this one! (Shot in landscape to give you the full blanket fort experience!) 🔁 We usually stick to the highlight reels, but today we wanted to share a raw, unfiltered look into our world. It starts with Ayla showing off her plushies. And yes, we saw your comments. So many of you thought the glittered, colored iris she was holding was real because of how naturally and perfectly she moves it. ✨👁️ But then, the conversation gets real. Her big brother Jaylen starts venting about the exhausting questions he gets at school and gatherings. As hearing kids and KODAs (Kids of Deaf Adults), Jaylen and Ayla are used to fielding questions. But Jaylen opens up about why answering questions about Ayla's eye cancer feels so much heavier—and completely different—than when people ask about their mom being Deaf. This is our normal. I want to add some grace here… just because the kids feel annoyed by these questions doesn’t mean the people asking are in the wrong. The kids' feelings of exhaustion are 100% valid, but for me personally, I love educating anyone who asks. Most adults know to respectfully come to me first. The main issue is that we CAN'T stop kids’ natural curiosity. Their peers are going to ask Jaylen and Ayla directly, and learning how to respond to that is simply a part of the journey they are navigating right now. Thank you for taking the time to listen, for being a part of Ayla’s journey, and for loving our family exactly as we are. Drop a 🩵 in the comments to show these two some love today! 👇 . . . . . #KODA #DeafAwareness #ChildhoodCancer #EyeCancer #Retinoblastoma #FamilyJourney #MotherhoodUnplugged #SiblingLove #ChildhoodCancerAwareness #BlanketFort #RealMotherhood #Advocacy