20 Things I Feel as a Special Needs Parent Other Than ‘Inspiring'
People sometimes tell me that as a special needs parent I am an inspiration. It’s a compliment, I think, but I never know how to take it. I certainly don’t feel inspiring. I do feel many things as a special needs parent.
1. Sometimes I feel tired.
2. Sometimes I feel elated.
3. Sometimes I feel chagrined.
4. Sometimes I feel baffled.
5. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed.
6. Sometimes I feel happy.
7. Sometimes I feel lonely.
8. Sometimes I feel strong.
9. Sometimes I feel weak.
10. Sometimes I feel “normal.”
11. Sometimes I feel so very different.
12. Sometimes I feel content.
13. Sometimes I feel jealous.
14. Sometimes I feel worried.
15. Sometimes I feel ornery.
16. Sometimes I feel jubilant.
17. Sometimes I feel confident.
18. Sometimes I feel deflated.
19. Sometimes I feel preoccupied.
20. Sometimes I feel relaxed.
But I never feel inspiring. I may act puzzled when you say I’m inspiring, because I’m just doing the best I can, getting through each day, as messy as that can be, and trying to make the best of things. I might not know how to answer when you say I’m inspiring because I simply see myself as a parent.
I’m a woman, a gardener, a wife, an advocate, a mother, and a runner. I am writing a book to be titled, “Hope Deferred”, about the heart sickness of parenting a child with complex medical needs, and the tree of life that inexplicably sprouts from the ashes of our hope. I have 3 kids at home, plus an adult child who has moved out and away. I’m happily married, and I am always thinking.
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