I’d say most of us with a child who has special needs have NEVER said that. I know I haven’t. I do remember one spunky, lively, young first year teacher Joey had who’d previously worked with severely disabled children…much more challenged than the group she had that included our son…had called his classroom of students “brilliant”! Oh how that blessed my heart and made me chuckle all at the same time!
Although our son (nearly 34) with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental challenges, and many food allergies (one that could be fatal) could be a challenge in her classroom, she saw this higher functioning group of students differently – in a good way!
How do we see our kids? As a:
- Frustration?
- Problem?
- Joy?
- Bother?
- Challenge?
- Inconvenience?
- Delight?
I’ll be the first to admit that often I recognize the hard work over the joy and the challenges over the victories. I’ll also be the first to admit that we’ve learned so much from him, our family has grown so much from serving him, and we’ve all learned just how valuable all life is. Recently, however, I was pleased to see that my son has even noticed how special we think he is to us.
Joey was VERY cooperative one particular morning as I helped him get ready for work – he wasn’t yelling or hitting me or saying he didn’t want to go! After work I gave him a haircut and he didn’t fuss or give me a hard time for that or his shower – which he never likes until he gets in! As I helped him finish getting dried off and into pajamas, he said, “I am a perfect son.”
He laughed with me as I laughed out loud…certainly he’s heard us say, “You are a perfect son…for us!”
He isn’t perfect and neither are our other children, or us, but he is indeed the perfect child for us!
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