This is something I am repeating to myself constantly. It has become my mantra. Parenting is a long walk with children, featuring endless questions, lots of laughter and tears, and sometimes, if I’m being honest, anger is present.
The munchkin is a fiery ball of energy, and I have to strategize when parenting. My expectations of his behavior cannot match the standard for his age. There are times when it is necessary for me to modify my behavior to affect changes in his.
Learning to cope with both our challenges has not been an easy feat for either of us. He is not allowed to hide behind his ADHD, just as I have to “roll with the punches”. He has asked me if my life would be easier if I weren’t disabled. I reply often that life’s challenges would just be different. Having a visible disability makes some of the challenges we face obvious to others, but the lack of one won’t limit the challenges of living.
Time does not always heal every wound, and life has its disappointments. I can’t fix every struggle for my son, and I can’t make every moment a teachable one, but I can be honest about my joys, sorrows, and frustrations… Especially with the munchkin. He has seen me in tears due to spasticity. He has seen me work to get in my chair. As I said before, we are not allowed to hide behind our disabilities, but neither were we meant to be defined as inspirational in the patronizing sense of the word. Every person should strive to be the best version of his-or her-self. It does not take a disability to make you inspirational. Humanity in general is an inspiration.
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