A few weeks ago I picked up a magazine called "all you" for the awesome coupons that it has inside, but found a treasure better than savings. There was an article called "Raising a child with special needs changed us for the better." I put it aside because it was during the process of Jordan's "envelope" and I wasn't in the right mindset to read anything relating to Jordan. This past weekend, I was sorting coupons and decided it was time to read it.
It amazed me that the author of the article has a blog that I had come across just a few weeks ago and knew that I wanted to check out a little more in the future. It is lovethatmax.com - this section was in the article I read, but is quoted as being adapted from the blog.
Why moms of special-needs liks rock!
*Because we never thought that "doing it all" would mean doing this much. But we do it all, and then some.
*Because we've discovered patience we never knew we had.
*Because we are willing to do something 10 times, 1,000 times if that's what it takes for our kids to learn something new.
*Because we have heard doctors tell us the worst, and we've refused to believe them.
*Because we have had bad days and breakdowns and bawl fests, then we pick ourselves up and keep right on going.
*Because we manage to get ourselves together and out the door looking pretty damn good. Heck, we even make sweatpants look attractive.
*Because we are strong. Who knew we could be this strong?
*Because we aren't just moms, wives, cleaners, chauffeurs, cooks and women who work. We are also physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, nurses, researchers, coaches and cheerleaders.
*Because we give our kids endless love and still have so much love left for our other kids, our husbands, our family.
*Because we understand our kids better than anyone else does - even if they can't talk or gesture or look us in the eye. We know. We just know.
*Because we never stop pushing, or hoping, for our kids.
*Because just when it seems like things are going OK, they're suddenly not, but we deal. We deal even when it seems like our heads or hearts might explode.
*Because when we look at our kids we just see great kids. Not kids with cerebral palsy/autism/Down syndrome/whatever label.
This list helped me to realize how much Jordan has changed me. I never realized that I could do what I have done over the past 4 years with her. I always looked at moms who had special-needs kids and said to myself "I could never do that!" Yet, God know I could. He knew that I needed to grow. Jordan is the tool He used to help me realize what I am capable of.
However, I do have days where I feel like I can't handle it. I have days that I feel like I am failing her and my entire family. I have days that I am weak and just want to quit. But that is when He steps in and gives me what I need to move on. He walks me through the challenges and stays by my side. He guides me in the decisions and gives me strength. The hardest part is recognizing that he is always there and will never leave me.
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