"I opened the door for the lady with blue eyes" Child aged 6

This was a beautiful moment last term, partly because the child opened the door for me without being asked to do so, which I always find touching, but then this is how she retold the event to her teacher. My first reaction was 'aww it's nice that she didn't 'see' the wheelchair' however the more I think about it the more guilty I feel for thinking that. You see I have to be careful because encouraging people to not 'see' the wheelchair has lead to several insensitive disability related jokes being made in front of me because people do not see me as a disabled person (whatever that means). So, on reflection, I realise that what I really felt was that it was nice that she saw that as a disabled person I would benefit from help with doors but that she also saw my blue eyes and decided that this feature was more important than my wheelchair when describing me. This to me, is a perfect balance between being thoughtful and yet not making disability define me. A skill that children seem to be good at mastering...