I read this blog post at Broken Body/ Whole Spirit and thought it was such an amazing post, I just had to share (with permission from the author, of course). The author of the blog, Misty, has an amazing story of life to tell that you can read here . Her words were an awesome reminder to me today and I wanted to share them with everyone that follows our blog, but especially other moms who have the blessing of having a child with spina bifida in their life. Enjoy!
Milestones
Posted on January 26, 2011 by Misty
There seems to be a recurring theme in some of the blogs I’ve been reading lately. I’ve been reading about late milestones, and worries about when or if they’ll ever be met. I wish I could reach everyone and tell you how much these things just won’t matter to your children. I have no idea when I learned to hold my head up, or roll over, or sit up by myself, or crawl (in fact, I’m not sure I ever crawled at all). I don’t know when I said my first word, or what it was. I don’t know when I learned my numbers, or when I learned to read. Thing is, I can do it now, and it doesn’t really matter to me that I was late. I’m sure I was late for most of it, but I found my way. I’m sure I worked harder than my spinally typical older brother did (thanks for the term, n3rdchick!), but I don’t remember much of it. For me, its just some stuff my parents say happened when I was little. I wasn’t bothered by being late, or working harder. I just wanted my toys, and they were across the room, so I figured out how to get them….without my legs.
My mom will tell you that I’m stubborn. She’s right. I think all the extra hard work made me that way. I’ve always been the girl that “can do it myself” even if it looks impossible, and its not impossible until I hurt myself or discover I’m too short! Seems those top cabinets don’t get any closer no matter how far I stretch my arm. Sigh…
What I’d like to say here, is that ten years from now, your kids won’t care that it took them FOREVER to roll over, or crawl on all fours, or say their first word. They’ll care that you stuck with them while they tried, and because you did the extra work with them, they can do it now. I know you guys work SO hard for results, and the progress is SO slow, but you’re doing a great thing for your kids. Keep with it, but don’t watch the calendar so much. They’ll get there when they get there, and if you’re busy watching the calendar, you just might miss it!
4 comments:
That is a great read, thanks for sharing! You are a terrific and perfect mom for Conner and Madi!
Love the blog. Love your insights. Love seeing Madi and your family doing fun things. You are doing a grea job.
Thanks for the link to Misty's blog. Very touching. Especially touching to read the words of an adult with spina bifida. Its like hearing the what my daughter might say when we get to that point of independence.
We have all the same toys... parapodium, dynamic stander, braces. And therapist. Tami suggested I stop by for a read. Would love to meet over a playdate.
Peggy Edwards
esrastrust@gmail.com
http://www.esrastrust.org
What a great post! And now that my son is getting older I SO GET that perspective. People keep asking me when he did this or that and I HONESTLY can not remember. I KNOW he was late, but he does it now, so who cares??? :)
Can't wait to check out the new blog (like I need to follow another one to stay behind on?? But it's what I do!)
BTW..... I think you might have won the contest on my blog.... how does Simply Soares Creating 4 Care strike you? You were so right that I had the hardest part already! :)
I think it's perfect! I'll head over toyour blog in a second and comment over there :)
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