A mom's post about a Halloween costume is going viral on Facebook. Thank you, Target!
Jen Kroll got pretty excited when she saw a recent Target ad.
No, it wasn't because of the "buy one, get one half off" sweater deal. It wasn't even because flannel sheets were 15% off.
Nope, not at all. (Though, flannel sheets do sound nice...)
Here's what made her week: a photo of an Elsa Halloween costume.
The ad meant so much to her that she posted it on Facebook and had this to say:
Kroll's Facebook post, shared with her permission.
Do you see what Jen saw? The model sporting the dress worn by Elsa of "Frozen" fame has arm crutches!
Yes, that's a big deal. Especially for Jen because here's a photo of her incredibly cute daughter, who just so happens to love Elsa:
I mean, seriously. Can you even with the adorableness?! Photos by Jen Kroll, used with permission.
I reached out to Jen, who's a photographer and mom to three kids, to find out more about her daughter's story.
Jen's youngest child, Jerrensia, came to her family on a medical visa from Haiti in 2011. She was just 14 months old at the time. "The closest diagnosis she fits into is Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC)," Jen explained to me. That basically means that she has significant issues with her joints. "Specifically," says Jen, "her hip sockets never formed properly, [her] knees were locked at a 90 degree angle, [her] feet were clubbed, and she lacked nearly all muscle tone in her legs."
For two years, Jerrensia was in intense physical therapy. Unfortunately, she didn't make much progress and "despite innovative orthotics, we made the difficult decision to amputate her legs through the knees," Jen shared. And while that must have been a difficult decision, it turned out to be the difference between being completely reliant on a wheelchair to get around and having more mobility options.
Today, Jerrensia is an active 5-year-old who "walks and RUNS everywhere on prosthetic legs and uses arm crutches to compensate for the lack of muscular development in her legs," Jen explained.
Amazing!
Mother and daughter, having some fun with selfies!
Jen talked about the ad and what normalizing disabilities through advertising and media means to kids like her daughter — and, just as importantly, what it means to kids who don't have disabilities.
"In mainstream culture, perfection is valued," she said. (Can I get an amen?!) "Special needs families exist in a subculture. The challenges we face are shared with those who understand them. And we're virtually invisible to the outside world."
Even more than being perceived differently — or worse, being invisible — children with special needs face distinct disadvantages in the world. Jen shared these stories with me that, sadly, aren't uncommon:
"While we have an incredible school that has embraced our daughter and are actively working to provide the best environment conducive to learning, another friend has recently been forced to hire an attorney at great personal cost because her school will not provide safe and accessible entry and exit from the building. Her kids are treated as an inconvenience. This is still happening every day in America.
While we have great acceptance and love in our little social circles, stepping outside of them is a different experience. Our daughter becomes a circus side show and many people lose all their manners. Recently at the zoo, we experienced a school group of a dozen children between the ages of 8-10 who circled our daughter in a play area. They swarmed her, pointing, laughing, and staring at her legs. It was brutal for a 5-year-old. And it took everything in me to not go Mama Bear in the absence of their teachers and chaperones."
"People do not see children like my daughter very often," Jen said. "They don't SEE children with disabilities."
Jen talked about how there aren't many movies with lead characters who have disabilities or special needs, and when they are included, it's usually to teach a lesson to another character.
"So when I saw Target place a child with Spina Bifida front and center, advertising Disney's sweetheart, Elsa, it brought me to tears," she said. "This little girl was no longer invisible. Arm crutches and leg braces were demystified. Target made an effort to make her a part of mainstream culture. Not as an object lesson, but as a beautiful child with a great smile who was clearly excited about being Elsa."
BOOM.
That matters, because sooo many kids with beautiful smiles just like Jerrensia's are complex human beings. They weren't put on this Earth to serve as lessons for others. If our kids can grow up in a world where special needs and disabilities are normalized, others won't perceive them as oddities but as the unique individuals they are.
Kids learn from the world around them, which is why the world around them should be inclusive and representative.
When Jen showed the Target ad to her three kids — 5-year-old Jerrensia and her older brothers, ages 9 and 13 — they were all excited.
One said, “Look at Elsa! She has crutches just like you!" Jerrensia was thrilled. She shouted, "Wow! Just like me!"
Jen summed it up so well, so I'll leave you with her words as a parting thought:
"We work very, very hard to make sure that her little corner of the world is anything but lonely and void of other children with similar abilities. But as far as media is concerned — there is a vast emptiness of children with whom she can relate. A Target ad with one precious little girl dressed as Elsa met her where she was and made the world a little more beautiful and friendly."
Thank you, Target! Now it's time for other retailers to jump on board this important train!
Millennial mom struggles to organize her son's room.Image via Canva/fotostorm
Boomer grandparents have a video call with grandkids.Image via Canva/Tima Miroshnichenko
Information from the NICABM website regarding the "Window of Tolerance."Photo Credit: The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine 
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Gen Xers and Millennials share 17 of the strangest things their Baby Boomer parents do
"My mom writes her emails in MS Word, then attaches the Word document to the email."
A Baby Boomer couple.
Generational fights have raged since the dawn of time, and a recent spat between Millennials and Baby Boomers is no exception. Baby Boomers, who raised Millennials, accuse the younger generation of being entitled and irresponsible with money. At the same time, Millennials accuse Boomers of having it easier economically while making it harder for those who came after them.
Where is Gen X in the battle? Probably off in the corner somewhere, saying, "Whatever." Aside from the generational sniping, there are some things the older generation does that are just plain baffling to younger people. Whether it's outdated worldviews, a refusal to adapt to modern technology, or a lack of self-awareness, Baby Boomers can do some strange things.
To help the younger folks get over their frustrations with parents from the "Me Generation," a Redditor asked: "What is the most Boomer thing your parents still do?" The stories were pretty funny and relatable, showing that almost everyone with parents over 60 is dealing with the same thing.
Here are 17 of the "strangest" things people's Baby Boomer parents do:
1. Phones on full blast
"Play iPhone slot machine games at full volume in the doctor’s office."
"My dad pretty much exclusively has his phone on speaker, and just walks around in public talking with it at max volume (and talking really loud himself). I’m like 'Dad, the entire supermarket doesn’t want to listen to you, and Uncle Jim complains about how often you have to pee.'"
2. Still using checkbooks
"My mom balances her checkbook every week. They still have a landline."
"And she probably has way more money than you will until she dies!"
3. Email issues
"My mom writes her emails in MS Word, then attaches the Word document to the email."
"Like the email is just the virtual envelope for the digital letter."
4. Restaurant jokes
"All those little restaurant comments.
'Wow, they'll let anyone in here!' when seeing a friend at said restaurant.
'Thanks for having us, not everyone will' to the waiter at the end of the meal.
'As you can see, it was terrible' when the staff takes away the clearly entirely eaten plate.
'You're going to have me floating away in a minute' when more water is put into their glass"
5. Always have to mention race
"Constantly mentioning the race or ethnicity of everyone she mentions. Never with any negative connotation or comment, but usually, there is no reason for it to be relevant to the conversation."
"My Jewish mother will always whisper the word 'black' in case anyone hears her: 'So the nice black man at the hardware store helped me find the right garden hose.'"
6. Googling their Google
"Typing Google on Google before they Google the thing they’re looking for."
"In the Google search bar, they type Google? Lol."
7. Getting a job is a cinch
"Believing you can walk into a business and hand in a resume. If you have a college degree in any field, they'll hire you."
"Just physically hand over your resume to HR or the hiring manager. You'll make a mark and get hired!! Call the office and ask to speak to HR/Hiring Manager."
Any Millennial who argued with their Boomer parents about how hard it is to land a good job should feel vindicated by a 2022 study, which found that most older Millennials didn't secure good jobs until their early 30s, while most Boomers did so in their 20s. "To secure a good job, young adults need to acquire more education and high-quality work experience than was necessary for previous generations," the researchers wrote.
8. Why are they together?
"Stay married forever while they behave like neither one of them can stand each other."
"I'm on the other side of that. After my mom passed, my dad now acts like their marriage was picture perfect and they were the love of each other's lives, even though they couldn't stand each other for at the very least 40 of the 54 years they were married."
9. Collectables or hoarding?
"Think their 'collectibles' are truly valuable."
"My mom insists her Hummels are going to put my kids through college!"
"Mine are the Thomas Kincade paintings. She has a Victorian glass piece that might actually be worth something, but those damn paintings are the real investment."
10. Can you grab the mail?
"Ask me to bring in the mail when they go away for more than 24 hours."
"My parents think everybody is standing at the door waiting for the mailman every day, and don’t believe me when I tell them that some people go days without checking their mail. They think everybody is waiting for the mailman every day because 'somebody might send them a check.' Like, really?"
11. Zero responsibility
"'Well, I guess I was just a bad father.' Yeah. That attitude of anti-responsibility is exactly why 3 out of 4 of your children don't talk to you."
"Ha! Have the same dad, do we?"
12. Comment on people's appearance
"Comment on EVERYBODY’s body/appearance/weight. The first thing my dad does after not seeing me for a year is poke me in the gut and tell me how fat I am."
13. Boomer panic is real
"Literally throwing their hands up in a panic when they don't understand something. Where did they learn that?"
"Or just saying 'well, I don't know', especially when that comes right after you explaining it and showing them how to do something, with them nodding along and asking relevant questions all the way through."
In a video by YourTango, editor Brian Sundholm tried to explain Boomer panic in an empathetic way: "Most of us nowadays know the importance of recognizing and feeling our emotions." Sundholm then quoted therapist Mitzi Bachman, who explained that when people struggle to express their emotions, it can result in an "unhinged" reaction.
14. Annoying Facebook posts
"Post nonsensical rants on Facebook for other boomers to like, share, and comment. Often these rants are political, but not always. Basically cringe-fest."
"Most people won't do it, but share this post if you believe in god and freedom."
"I do NOT give Facebook permission to use my photos and personal information!"
15. Dinner pushers
"While we're eating breakfast. What do you want to do for supper?"
"Can't we enjoy this meal without worrying about the next?"
16. They print everything
"My boomer in-laws print EVERYTHING! The number of times I have said, 'quit wasting ink, email it to me, or text me the link. Or just text me the schedule, don't print it out.' GPS on their phones? Nope...print a map."
"Boomers and their paper man. My dad has finally started using the internet, but he still prints everything he likes. Like he'll see a boat listing on Craigslist and print the entire page, including a massive color photo of it, and he's definitely not going to be buying it either. He's got a stack of papers that is the internet that sits by his recliner. He just sits there with Fox News on (though it's usually muted for some reason, that's a plus) and looks at his papers."
17. Flirting with servers
"My dad is 77 still flirts with the young waitresses. It's f**king weird for everyone."
"He thinks he is in cute old man territory, but he is not."