Mothers' Day

We win.
No one knows it but us.

But we do.

We are the parents of kids with disabilities who get to see the true value of our children. Though it can hurt, we get past what we thought our children would become. Though it’s painful, we get beyond whatever society decides what our children can or can’t do. And, no matter what we used to think, we stand up to build the life our children need, want and deserve.

We go beyond our past ideas, to the gift of the child that is. Our world view explodes... and then expands.

We struggle. We worry. Sometimes we rage. Sometimes we cry.

And…

We are the lucky ones.

We get to know miracles. We know just exactly what it takes to learn. We know just how many muscles must respond to make a person able to walk or talk. We know just how the process of language unfolds and what it really means when it works or when it doesn’t. Reading, writning and arithmetic are more than assumptions for us.

We get to figure out what really matters. We know about justice (and injustice.) We know stuff we never thought we would or could.

We treasure moments.

And, no matter what society sees or understands, we know that love is not about ability or response to intervention or any other standard or value. We know the meaning of and the reasons for ‘fierce.’

We change the world.

Unconditional is us.

It's not easy, but we get to see behind the curtain.

We are challenged. We are stressed. We fight like tigers and sometimes we are frazzeled to the bone.

And we are blessed.

Happy Mothers’ Day to all of us!

MEME Time

(This video has nothing whatsoever to do with memes, I have just always wanted to include it! Happy Mothers Day!)

I have seen memes played out on other blogs, but never tried one myself. I got tagged by Barbara at TherExtras and it seems like a nice Mothers Day activity... so here goes:

The Rules…
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves. Please use the option for changing a question to one question only.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 4-5 people by posting their names, leaves them a comment on their blog that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Here are the questions:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
In May of 1998 I was consumed with my youngest child's transition from pre-school to kindergarten. A highly stressful time. I'm trying to remember if that was a snowy Mothers Day here, but (though I can find pictures of every other year) I don't seem to have any of 1998... This year it's cloudy and cool, but NOT snowy!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today?
Be showered with cards, presents, chores done by other hands than mine and food I did not cook. (Check! And yes, I am quite spoiled!)
Go to my in-laws for more of same! (Check!)
Read more of the BADD posts (Check! And you should go read some too, lots of interesting perspective there.)
Watch Disney movie with my own princess. (Check!)
Transport teenagers to/from work. (Got the 'to' part done....)
There's more that will get done, but they asked for 5.

3.What snacks do you enjoy?
I really like snacks. Favorites: Hershey Kisses, cookies, chips & salsa... I could go on and on!

4. What would you do if you became a billionaire?

Support a couple of my favorite organizations, fund worthy efforts at increasing accessibility... again, I could go on and on.

5. What are your bad habits?
Snacking, going on and on.... by no means an exhaustive list!

6. Where have you lived?

Upstate NY. Always.

7. What were your 5 most interesting jobs?

Cocktail waitress, sales-person in a fabric store, nursing assistant, nurse, Virtual Trainee for the AUCD.
Being a mom isn't a job per se, but on Mothers Day how could I not mention it--it's my favorite of all.

8. Who do you tag to do this meme next?

Can people self-tag? If you read this and have a blog, please play and leave me a comment to say you did... if this doesn't work I will have to figure something else out...