My mother is the mother of a specially able child. Today, I want to talk about what that means. This is a glimpse through my eyes. This is how I see things. It may not apply to all cases, but it certainly applies to my mother. So this is what it means to be the mother of a specially able child:
It means joy. It means pain. It means sleepless nights and stressful days. It means you cling to hope. It means you believe in your child and their ability. It means that the first part of your routine is helping your child. It means that the scene of a doctor's office is an all-too-familiar sight to see. It means driving to therapies about once every day, five times a week. It means thousands of doctor's appointments and hundreds of therapies. It means a planner is must and schedules are tight to coordinate. It means loving your child and cherishing the moments you have together. It means fighting for your child with all your mama bear instincts. It means navigating the politics of medicine and figuring who and what is best for your child. It means hospital stays and bad news. It means celebrating the little things. It means holding their hand through life. It means that you believe in God. It means that you believe in miracles, for your precious child is one. It means you hope and you love and you feel deeply. You will never ever give up on your child. You love them fiercely and defend them like a warrior with all the grace and tact in the world. It means you never stop dreaming for them and helping them become.
Ultimately, being the mother of a specially able child means hope. It means you have a firm hope for your child and you do all you can for them. They deserve the best life they can have, and you strive for that. No matter how dark and hopeless the outlook seems, you see the light. And you pursue it.
That pursuit lasts a lifetime. There are no holidays, no breaks. Not a moment to stop and breathe. It is a 24/7 job that pushes you to your max. There are times when you might break, but you always pull through. Your greatest reward is the sparkle in their eyes, the smile on their face, and hearing them speak those precious words: "I love you." Then, in that moment, it is all worth it. All the pain. All the stress. All the sleepless nights. All the drama. All the hospital stays. All the worry. All of it. It's all worth it. For truly: You love your child.
The most beautiful and strong people that I have ever met are mothers of specially able children. It takes a special kind of soul to love that much, hope for the world, and never stop believing. Their job is thankless, yet it is powerful. If you ever want to know a true woman, meet the mother of a specially able child. They are refined and kind. They will believe in you and fight for you. They will love you. I have been inexpressibly blessed to know many of these mothers. Some I've only known briefly. Others I've become close to. All are brilliant. They are true women. They are true Daughters of God.
To all of these dear and precious and wonderful human beings who are mothers of specially able children:
Thank you.
Those two words aren't enough to express all the love and thanks in my heart. Thank you for ALL that you do. I can't even list it here. But you know exactly what that means. And I thank you for it. For all of it. You are wonderful. You are so important. You are a breathtaking human being. Thank you for inspiring me. I may only be one person, but this one person sees your struggles and heartaches and how much you care. And I thank you for it. <3
These are just a few of the incredible mothers who I have been talking about: (There are quite a few that I couldn't find pictures of. . .might need to brush up on my social media stalking skills XD :P)
They have touched me and inspired me more than they realize.
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