To the Moms of Children With Disabilities

You will never forget the moment you became a mom. A soft and tender child was placed upon your breast. Your beautiful baby was finally here after many long months. Your heart grew exponentially that day. It continues to grow. You touched their delicate hands and felt their tiny fingers try to wrap around your big hands. You felt love flow through you like big electric shocks.

A mom was born that day as much as a child. You loved this tiny baby more than you loved yourself. You knew right then you would do anything to keep them safe and happy.

The moments turned into memories. You felt the rapid passage of time.

You will also never forget the day you got the diagnosis of their disability. No matter what it was, you felt a little shocked and scared. Your world would change, but your love would never falter. You would handle any changes or new challenges with as much strength and courage as you could muster.

You educated yourself quickly. You felt empowered slowly but surely. You tread lightly on some days. You soldiered on powerfully on others.

Maybe you cried yourself to sleep some nights, but you cried tears of joy on many others. You were you, and they were their wonderful selves. The bond of love had not changed and will never change.

This love will follow them around throughout their whole life. It will help them face certain struggles. It will help them carry on. It will comfort them when they have a rough day. It will be a warm blanket when they feel the world’s coldness.

You wish they would never face adversity, but you know they may face it more than many others. You help guide them and prepare them to take on the world. You may make progress one day, then take two steps back another. You know you are still both going in the right direction. You will figure it out. You won’t give up until you do.

There will be days you feel like a complete failure. But you will not let your child see that reflection, because you know it’s not reality. It’s just a temporary countenance. It will be gone tomorrow. And if/when it rears its ugly head again, you will conquer it once more.

You are grateful for every tomorrow with your amazing child. You will help them thrive and live a completely wonderful, fulfilled life. You will help them see others as equals and show compassion and kindness.

They are your greatest gift, and you wouldn’t trade them for the world. You are so proud of everything they do. They have come so far, and you can’t wait to see where they will go and what they will achieve.

You are doing a great job.

You are their mom, and they are so lucky to have you.

They are no longer babies. Their eyes will always reflect the love you have shown them. The love that turns a disability into an ability. A moment of fear into an act of bravery. A deep love of a child into a strong love of self.

I long for the day when everyone can feel this kind of love.

Then maybe there will not be so many barriers, blank stares or shrugs of indifference.

There will only be people.

There will only be love.

The Mighty is asking the following: Write a letter to anyone you wish had a better understanding of your experience with disability, disease or mental illness. If you’d like to participate, please send a blog post to community@themighty.com. Please include a photo for the piece, a photo of yourself and 1-2 sentence bio. Check out our Submit a Story page for more about our submission guidelines.