‘Tis the holiday season!
We are preparing for the holiday season in full spirit...are you?
Yesterday, in light of thanksgiving I received an email from my son’s teacher. I was so surprised and overwhelmed with the email, that for a minute I didn’t know how to respond!
Since my son’s birth, my husband and I have been working round the clock caring for him because he’s a child with special needs. It’s like we are mechanical robots! Everyday we wake up and we start hovering over him, pretty much like “helicopter parents”!
Almost every doctor I’ve met has asked me if I’m a healthcare professional, because I know so many medical jargons! But that’s not because I’ve always been interested in science, but because I’m the mother of a child with special needs. This is not just true for me, this is the story of every parent of a child/children with special needs. Don’t take me wrong, every parent is special, just that parents of children with special needs do not have a lot of liberties that you enjoy! And it’s nobody’s fault. It is what it is!
Why I was taken aback with this email is because for the first time somebody outside of my family and extended family (including friends) appreciated me for being a helpful mother to my son! In fact, a lot of times, people who I expected to understand me and show compassion have left me disappointed. They have been in the front seat to watch me struggle and also to ridicule me. There are many people who I thought were my own but have only blamed me instead! My son is 9 years old now and for all these 9 years in its entirety, I’ve heard people blaming me for my son’s birth condition! The truth or science behind it doesn’t matter to them!
When this teacher appreciated me, all those things I have done, but went unnoticed by people who matter to me, flashed before my eyes!
Nobody in this world has helped me like my husband and my mother. My husband I can still take for granted, because it’s his child too and we share equal responsibility. But, my mother who could have easily been just a spectator in my life selflessly cared for my family and me and still does. I argue with her a lot but we both know, we have each other’s back!
If you are thankful for someone’s presence and help in your life, this is the time to tell them.
Be thankful for all those people who have offered their help without even you asking! Be thankful to the stranger who held the door open for you or the cashier who helped you swipe your card because you didn’t know how to use a chip card!
Apologize to those you have intentionally or unintentionally hurt. Apologize to those you have never appreciated for what they do but are the first one to criticize when they do something wrong!
A lending hand, a heart of compassion is all that it takes to save someone. I will be eternally grateful to my son’s neonatologist for identifying the early signs of depression in me and directing me to a psychiatrist at a time when we were drained physically and emotionally as parents and didn’t even know what depression is!
I’m thankful for my family and I’m sure you are too. Make sure you tell them that.
Food for thought: “Love not expressed, is love wasted!”
Another thing I’m thankful for are my struggles. They have made me what I am today!
I’m also thankful to you, all my loyal readers!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!
Love you much.Keep writing.Keep inspiring !