Hard

I’m not even gonna pretend. Being the parent of a special needs child is sometimes hard. Some days we laugh like crazy. Then other days there may be a lot of screaming and we’re working really hard to figure out what Juliana needs us to understand or may not be happy about. But you know what, we take it all in stride.

This is what I’m starting to figure out. I can’t fix her and as a parent, my role is to be her advocate, nurturer and provider.  At the beginning of her diagnosis I felt so weird. And while I hate to admit it, I felt that I was the last person equipped and able to be a special needs parent. Some days I still feel that, but then I remind myself this is really not about me. I’m here and this is real. What will I do to make her world better? To make things better for both of my girls?

I’m a reader and it was not rare at all for me to take on three or four books at the same time. Uh, did you notice the past tense of the above sentence? Since I spend most of my days chasing a two and three year old, I now simply pile the books by my bed to make me feel good. So, when I started to feel sorry for myself I read.  I scoured the Internet for the right tip, book or advice to help me deal with what I was feeling. I found Unlocking the Treasure: A Bible Study for Moms Entrusted with Special Needs Children by Bev Roozeboom. It is biblically based which is what I needed first. After that, I enjoyed the reality stories of special needs moms just like me. Each person is different and needs different things to put a perspective on their new normal. This book started me on the right path.

When you realized that this was hard, what resources did you turn to for help to put things in the right perspective?