Moms of Kids With Special Needs Are Not Your Momspiration

As a parent of a medically fragile child, I am pretty used to getting the “Momspiration” lines. “I just don’t know how you do it.” “You are so strong.” “I could never do what you do.” Really? If your kid was diagnosed with an illness, you would stand by them. You would research treatments and take them to physical therapy and do whatever takes. Because that’s what moms do!

You know who should be your momspiration? Stay-at-home moms. Moms of multiple children. Moms who shower every day. Moms who make their kids’ Halloween costumes. Working moms. Those are really inspirational moms.

In fact, moms in general are inspirational! Generate life form? Check! Clean up that life form’s poop? Check! Don’t harm that life form when they roll their eyes at you in public? Check! (Mostly) So maybe all moms should get the “I don’t know how you do it.” But when it comes to moms with children who have special needs, a simple, “You are doing a great job” will suffice. Because as much as it seems like we are super moms from the outside for handling extreme circumstances, on the inside we are really feeling like the extreme circumstances are forcing our ability to do anything else out.

Super reality check: my kids don’t always brush their teeth, and we are never good at being on any kind of schedule, and as much as we try and limit iPad time there seems to always be one day where I look over and don’t remember how long they have been staring at that screen. Unfortunately, the list could go on and on of items I am “supposed” to be doing and am failing at because I am trying to keep us all healthy and well adjusted to our life. So when you run into us at the pizza place it could be a special treat or it could be that I just ran out of energy to cook for the third night in a row, but there is no need to congratulate me for coming out in public with my child in a wheelchair.

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Thinkstock illustration by Dorling Kindersley