It’s so easy to talk about all the things our kids can do, are doing, and will do, but for those of us with children having special needs, one might be heard talking about the things our children “can’t” do. I tend to do that because often those are the things that concern me the most, and the things I most wish he “could” do. But recently I began to think (as I have thought on other occasions) that there are some things I am thankful he can’t, or won’t do!
Because his speech is so limited few can understand him and his thoughts don’t always make full sentences. We usually interrupt for him when we’re around others, but we are quite sure, that what he does say is from a pure heart. So while he says little, we know:
He doesn’t talk bad about others! He doesn’t:
- Gossip
- Slander
- Make fun of
- Insult
- Make crude jokes
(Although when his teams are losing…he really talks up a storm about that!)
He doesn’t purposely get into trouble. He doesn’t:
- Drink alcohol, so we don’t have worries about that
- Do drugs (well, he’s on a few for epilepsy, allergies, and the “chill pill”)
- Hang out with bad company
- Lie (I seriously don’t think he even could!)
- Doesn’t stay out all night (we always know right where he is!)
(But sometimes, like other men, he gets a little rowdy when his team is losing!)
He doesn’t act nasty. He doesn’t:
- Look for fights
- Usually talk back to us
- Show unkindness to his fellow workers
- Look for trouble
(Watching him open the door to work for other workers with walkers, wheelchairs, etc. just warms my heart. I know he has a good heart.)
Even though there are a lot of things he “can’t” do (and we need to help him), we also know that there some very special things about our son that he does do.
He likely:
- Sins a whole lot less than most of us
- Thinks more positively and kindly about others
- Loves with complete simplicity and unconditionally
And while there are many things I wish my son “could” do, I am most grateful for so many things from which he’s been spared, and I can delight in the list I’ve shared of these things he “can’t do” because it makes him quite unique and special in a way others of us should be but aren’t and won’t be!
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