Some mornings, you have that momentary feeling of dread at the sound of the alarm. There is so much to do today, too much to do. All moms have that feeling at one time or another, but when you’re parenting a child with special needs, there are never enough hours in the day. It’s not just the actual things to do, it’s the brain stuff, the emotional labour, the thinking about therapies and forms to fill out and appointments to make, and it’s the worrying about the future. The worrying that can keep you awake at night, even as you chide yourself that worrying does no good.
I am here to tell you today that you are amazing. I know that you don’t always get it right. You might go to bed every night feeling like you failed. But you get back up every morning and keep going.
All that advocating you’ve been doing? You know…when you shout from the rooftops even when it seems like no one is listening? It’s not for nothing. Even when the changes don’t get made, there are little ears that hear you standing up for them, pushing for change. Your words fall just where they needed to. Your child knows that he is loved, that his mama would go to the ends of the Earth to pave the way for him.
The other night when you read your child a story even though you just were so done that you wanted to skip the story time and go straight to the tuck-in? You won’t be getting any awards for that. There won’t be a parade in your honour. But that little one of yours? They felt loved. And for that, you deserve to be celebrated.
That day on the playground when the other moms ignored you because your child doesn’t fit into a box? I saw you. I saw your pain.
I see you today, getting back up every time there’s a setback, not giving in when another obstacle comes up. I see you getting stronger minute by minute, hour by hour, not because you want to, but because there is no other choice.
The rewards are few, but they come in those moments where something for your child clicks, when there is a breakthrough, or when you see them accepting your love.
This club we all belong to, the one where the price of admission is watching your child struggle with that which others take for granted…it’s a hard club to be in. The membership dues are tears and sleepless nights and weariness. But the membership results are big too. You become fierce like a lion, a mama bear practised and ready to go to battle for her young. You champion other mothers. You cheer on the marginalized. You see the beauty that others cannot. You grow a compassion so strong that it reaches far beyond just your own child. You are amazing.
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The More Calm in the Chaos Printable Planner was designed especially for moms parenting a child with special needs. Get it now by clicking this link or clicking the image below:
Thank you for the encouraging words to parents with special needs children!