Sometimes Special Needs Moms Feel Like They Can Do It.

I thought it made a good parallel with my last post. :) Please excuse my generalities, I know I'm very knew to this game and I don't mean to be oversimplifying anyone else's journey. I think I need to break it down into very small pieces for myself right now as I process.

Tonight D finished the girlie's sand and water table. I'll post pictures later! It's gorgeous. Her indoor sensory table should be finished in the next couples days. She was delighted and played with the sand until she had to come inside. The cashier asked D if he was getting organized (storage bins) and he said he was making a stim table for his daughter who has SPD - we don't have an specific diagnosis yet but we know her struggles lie somewhere in the sensory processing/integration range. It was cool to hear him explain it in his own words. The cashier has a fifteen year old son who has sensory issues and likes washing dishes even though it takes him forever because he's soothing himself with the feel of the water on his hands. At dinner the sauce on the R's chicken was too spicy for her and we got her fresh rice and traded her our chicken that had the sauce mostly wiped off from stirring it into our rice. It worked and it felt easy.

It's funny, just like the little things make this real and leave me crying, it's also the little things that every once in a while make me feel like I can do this. I'm learning to really enjoy those moments when I have them.

Special Needs Moms Cry.

This journey has a steep learning curve. And there's no waiting to learn, no
pause button to hit while we figure this out. Last week my realization was "Special needs moms spend a whole lot of time on the phone." This week it's simply "Special needs moms cry." Not often --right now, honestly, I just don't have time to cry. But sometimes it all comes pouring out.

I added a tag line to the bottom of the page. "This blog wasn't supposed to be about sensory issues and special needs. But it is." My life, my daughter's life, wasn't supposed to be about those things. She is brilliant! She's more alive than anyone else I've ever met. But some days, some seasons I guess, it is going to be about those things. And my job is to do everything in my power to fight and advocate for her. And my job is also to not let it be about those things at all. She is four, and it's a sunny day. She is so much more than the things that challenge her.

And I just added two new labels to this post that I have never used before - "sensory issues" and "special needs". Yup, special needs moms cry.

Welcome to this crazy journey we found ourselves on.