Defining Normal

I was out running errands this morning.  After leaving The Home Depot, which doesn't get anywhere near the business they used to from me, we were stopped waiting to turn down the major road in town.  I waited a bit longer and let a man in his motorized wheelchair cross in front of me.  I could almost hear the questions/comments about to come from the backseat.  And I didn't have to wait long.  "Mom, look at that guy!  He's got one of those wheelchairs!!"  Again, with the fascination regarding the use of an electric wheelchair.  "Why does he have one of those?"  Always with the follow-up question too.  Now normally the answer had been that the individual riding along had trouble walking.  Still the case today, although I had to let my 5-year-old know that this particular man was missing parts of his legs.  He appeared to be missing from the knee down on both legs.  "What happened to his legs?"  Well, I informed him, I don't know that man so I can't be sure what happened to his legs.  Some people are born that way and some people have bad accidents and they lose them.  For this teaching occasion I didn't feel like going down the road of describing what happens to the limbs of those with poorly managed diabetes.  My description seemed to satisfy him and we moved on.  Our next stop was at a nearby grocery store to get a couple things for dinner.  We got to the checkout and a man got in line behind us.  I didn't really eye-ball the gentleman, but apparently my curious eldest got a good look.  "Mommy, look at that guy!  He has both his legs!"  hahahahaha.

Usually the comments are about something out of the ordinary.  Did he somehow now think that someone who had all their limbs was an oddity?  Or was it me that had this preconception?  If we came across someone in the store with a round belly or a huge butt, these things were quickly identified.  But it wasn't him who had pointed out that the man in the wheelchair was missing his legs, that was me!  He just thought it rocked that he had the motorized device.  And the other day at Walmart, he paid no attention to a young man who walked by us that was missing parts of his arms.  So why do I feel the need to make him sensitive to these subjects, when clearly he doesn't recognize any abnormality with them at all?  Is it perhaps my own fear that he will shout out something about their lack of limbs?  It's not like they aren't aware of their missing appendages.  I guess I should give him a little more credit for being sensitive to strangers' feelings... unless those strangers are men with huge pregnant-looking bellies or ladies with huge butts.