My Child’s Disability Is Not a Disadvantage, It's Just Different

My child’s disability is not a disadvantage:

It challenges me to be a better parent– the parent I didn’t know I could be and didn’t know how to be, but I am better because of it.

It keeps me patient, kind and humble.

It has taught me how to ask for help and how to receive it.

It compels me to prioritize what’s really important.

It has shown me I can handle more than I ever could have imagined possible.

It keeps me organized, attentive, young at heart and wise in mind.

It motivates me to earn more, do more, teach more, advocate more for my child and for others.

It grounds me.

It keeps me honest, practical, reasonable and logical.

It taught me how to give a compliment, how to see joy, how to feel frustration and how to kiss a boo-boo you can’t see but know is there.

It taught me about friends. The real friends who we already knew and opportunities for new friendships to develop.

It helps me recognize the beauty in the ordinary world around us as truly exceptional.

It compels me to make it count. Always.

It challenges me to be creative, to be prepared, to think under stress, function in anger and confront denial.

It broke down walls and built bridges with healthy boundaries for my family.

It continues to teach me how to see the best in those around me.

It keeps me going.

It enriches my family in beautiful ways that words will never capture. A beauty that’s felt in a laugh, a smile, a glance, a touch.

My child’s disability is not a disadvantage. It’s a different vantage point.

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Thinkstock photo by: tatyana_tomsickova