my great-grandmother gave birth to my great-aunt and great-uncle, twins. later, she found out my great-uncle eugene was mentally handicapped. retarded. the doctors said that she should send him away and forget about him. luckily, she didn't. she raised him on the family farm. i don't have many memories of him. just a couple. we spent time when i was young coloring and painting together. he died at home, in his sleep in the late 80's.

today, he simply would be labeled as slow or delayed. i don't know how to describe how i feel looking at these photos and think that he could have lived his life at a place like this, not knowing what a real family would have been like. i'm glad my great-grandma stood up for what was truly like. and at the same time, i feel sad for the children who didn't have that chance.