I hear this a lot, and it used to make my blood boil. (To be fair, I know I've said it myself in the past, so I know it's well-intentioned. From now on, though, I will save this exclamation for people who guess my card and pull rabbits out of hats.) I'd smile and say something witty like, "Well, I just do it one day at a time." But inside I'd be thinking, "What choice do you think I have? I just do what has to be done!"
I've realized, though, that at the heart of this I-don't-know-what-else-to-say statement is a very sincere but very awkward question: What's it like to have a child with special needs?
It would be a hard question to enunciate face-to-face, but it's a fair one. And now, during Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I think it's a good question to answer. So here goes...
From the minute you find out your child has special needs, you are on a whole new path--one that you have never experienced before...
So you lace up your tennis shoes...
The path seems anything but smooth...
...and you wonder if you can make it.
It seems like an insurmountable distance for one person to cover...
...and at times it's so hard to traverse that you wonder if you're the only one who has ever walked this path...
At other times, you see people zooming past you...
...and you think, Wait a second, is there some sort of fast track I'm missing? How can they do it so quickly and so well? Where's MY bicycle?
But you keep going.
And just when you think you can't take another step...
...and rest.
And suddenly, your perspective...
You begin to relax and take it in...
So what's it like having a child with special needs?
Well, my friends... it's a walk in the park.
3 comments:
He looks so big! And your right, its just like a walk in the park. :-)
That was a beautiful way to describe our journey as special needs parents! I loved it.
Good post, Katy!
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