Special

Do any of you have a child that is considered “special?” I mean, we all think our kids are special..of course. I am talking in the sense of “special” like special needs.. AKA not “typically developing” or whatever other medical jargon you can think of throwing at it! I was just having a reminiscent conversation with my daughter’s dance teacher last night. She was asking me about our daughter Gracie. Gracie has Williams Syndrome. I will spare you the lengthy, detailed description of how we found out about her diagnosis and everything that we went through to get her situated and ready to attack this thing called life. It would take hours to explain.. I will tell you how it has impacted our family, community, and myself. When she was born we knew something wasn’t right.. I think as a mother, you kinda just know. I can even remember my brother telling me that he knew something wasn’t right, but he didn’t want to upset me by saying that!! Upset me? A postpartum mother with a newborn, a 12 month old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old. Sheesh…why would the (sleepless, sore nippled, haven’t bathed in a month) mother get upset about you telling her that something “just isn’t right” with her new baby. Okay, now that I am writing it… good call Wes. You are so SMART! Anyway, we knew something was up. Let’s skip to when we found out that Gracie did have Williams Syndrome. I cried and cried because I had a real fear of the unknown. Williams syndrome was unknown to me. Disabilities were unknown to me. (I wasn’t a nurse yet at this point in time) I was scared for Gracie and…full disclosure…I was scared for the person who was mean to her or made fun of her, because the wrath of her mother would explode on them like the green snot in Ghost Busters!! That’s real, right there. Re-read that last sentence, because that is how I felt at the time. I hated, hated, hated that I couldn’t protect her from what was to come in her life. People, medical issues, school, just to name a few. Fast forward to present day. I sit back watching this amazing little girl take the world by storm. She has a contagious, infectious personality that can make anyone smile on a bad day. Her father and I can be in the middle of a heated debate and God decides it’s time to wake her up from a sound sleep to crawl into our bed… She comes in and does something goofy as she always does and immediately, no matter what is being debated, it is settled. Because we are both instantly made aware, in that moment, of what we have together and that Gracie is our proof that we can overcome any obstacle. Did you know that the divorce rate for parents of children with special needs is high? I understand why…It is stressful, it is hard, it is tiring, there are “extra hurdles” in the race of life with our kiddos. That many hurdles gets exhausting. Marriages fail because of it. It’s unfortunate but true. Back on topic, I can take Gracie anywhere around this town we live in and I feel like I am with a celebrity. EVERYONE knows Gracie. EVERYONE tells Gracie hello. Heck Gracie knows more people than her dad and I do.. let me connect all this to my main point.. The discussion I was having with my daughter’s dance teacher focused on how I was once scared and now I can’t imagine life any different. Our community has rallied behind our daughter. But it hasn’t just been to support Gracie. Gracie has provided support and lessons to others just because of who she is. She provides a small glimpse into what God wants us to remember everyday.. That is LOVE. Gracie has love for everyone. She wants everyone to know they are “her friend” and she shows her siblings, her teachers, her doctors, her nurses, her classmates, and everyone else that she encounters in life that “special” is acceptable and not scary at all. We have nothing to fear. We only need to learn to accept and LOVE like my girl is able to. Thank God for sending her to a mother who needed her as much as she needed me.