How do you do it?

((This is an older post I wrote on wordpress on Feb 7th of this year. I wanted to repost it here so all of my Blogger readers could see it, and so I have a reminder to myself as well.))

How do you do it?

I am often asked this question about many things, but mostly in regards to raising my son.

How do I do it? Do what exactly? treat him like a “normal” kid, understand his needs and wants? Communicate on his level of understanding?

Or did you want to know how I handle the stress of his condition? his diets? his behavior? How do I deal with the doctors, the help? the people in his life that treat him more like a disease then a person?

How do I do it?

well, I ascribe to this crazy Idea that people are more than their limitations. That A child is a person deserving of understanding, respect, love, and patience. I accept his limitations without obsessing over them. I try to accept my own limitations without obsessing over them, and we meet somewhere in the middle. We teach each other, we learn from each other, and we grow together.

Yes it takes strength to do what I do every day. Amazing strength. And yes some days it’s more of a struggle then others. But If you learn from your children. If you accept who they are and who they are becoming on their own time, You can turn a tragedy into a joy.

And It’s my job to make sure that I do the best I can for him.
Sometimes that’s the hardest part. Making those decisions about the future when I have no idea where we will be in the future. Everyone Has an opinion, A treatment, some piece of advice that worked for them or someone they know with a similar condition. I say good for them.

but this is my son. These are my kids. I am their mom. It’s up to me to make sure that they feel happy, safe, loved, accepted, and cared for. Because one day, the rest of the world will not be so kind. One day people will treat him like he is a lesser being because he is “different” and on that Day. I will be there to tell him that It’s ok. Because it is.