10. Keeping my judgey panties in check. I can’t tell you how many times Timothy and I have been victims of this and until it happened to us I had no idea how it felt. It SUCKS people. Please don’t stare at my child when he is lying on the floor in Walmart or flapping at the lunchmeat in the deli case at Zehrs.
9. Keep your parenting advice to yourself. For reals! 9 times out of 10 that Mom and/or Dad are doing the best damn job they can. They have taken hundreds of hours of “Parent Learning” courses and spend every spare minute working with that kid. The wringer? Been through it. Likely they have heard what you have to say already several times. Its offensive so please don’t. (I say this with love).
8. Live for the moment. Those dishes? They’re not going anywhere. Neither is the laundry. As long as you have clean unders for the day you’re good. Clean house will have to wait cause my kid won’t. Let it go.
7. The meaning of ABA, IEP, IBI, TAC, OT, PT and the principal’s phone number off by heart. (Insert eye roll here please)
6. The short bus is awesome! It comes right to our drive way = less work for me. Roll on short bus, roll on. You rule.
5. Milestones are overrated and not made for every kid. Hell, Timothy still wears diapers and he is 6.5 years old. He just started to feed himself this year with a spoon. We had a party! Make up your own rules and don’t conform to society’s. You’ll be so glad you did.
4. Learning to appreciate the little things. Peeing on the toilet warrants a trip to McDonalds for fries around these parts. When my son said “I love you” for the first time at 5 years old I wept with joy and gratitude.
3. How awesome respite care is. We are lucky enough to score 6.75 hours of one on one for Timothy a month. Yes, I love him but having a shower alone is a gift from above!
2. Stop taking myself so seriously. I live in sweats. I rarely have time to put on make up, so brushed teeth and clean hair is what it is. If there’s time to sleep and clean the house its a special day. I’ve lost friends along the way but made way more.
1. Don’t be scared of different. Get to know different. You may be surprised at how incredibly awesome different is. I know I was.
Cheers.
Trish.
I loves the short bus, too! I get almost as excited as my son when it shows up!
ReplyDeleteThose stares! Whenhe is wearing no no splints for a haircut. When I am putting no no splints on inthe middle of a store or parking lot because I gave money to the cashier instead of him or because I forgot and put a can of cat food in the cart first instead of handing it to him and today the aggressive behaviors toward Mom and self are just not redirectable.
ReplyDelete