Not the Life I Pictured
Some kids go to hockey practice and baseball games. Or theater or an art show. Play dates and birthday parties. That’s what a parent imagines.
Cooper and I used to have nothing like that. No outings. No games. Oh how I longed for something. Anything. A place that we could go to together.
Now we go to speech together. We go to grocery stores and Target too. We visit places in our community.
We visit parking lots just to learn about cars and strangers and practice waving. We always seem to be doing something.
In the community, I’m always clapping and cheering. Many probably think I’m crazy. I motivate him. I get exasperated and exhausted.
I’m almost always sweaty.
I wonder at times why everything has to be so hard. I pick him up off the ground more times that I can count.
I sit on the floor next to him in speech while he tries saying words. I hold his head when he gets frustrated.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be the mom who sits in the waiting room.
This is not the life I imagined for my 8 year old or myself. These aren’t the outings or hobbies I imagined.
This isn’t hockey or Lego Club. But you know what?
Our time together is not less than because I’m not sitting on a bleacher cheering or in the audience watching. That’s not our life. This is. And It’s pretty dang amazing if you ask me.
This morning we got up early and went to speech. Cooper had his shoes on and was waiting in the car for me 5 minutes early. That’s how excited he was.
On the drive we laughed about bumblebees. BUZZ, BUZZ he said. He asked me to go to the fire station by pointing.
After we went through the Starbucks drive thru and his ‘C-OOO-P-EE” verbalization (cookie) was on point. He high fived me when I handed it back.
I could find sadness in so many things in this life. Spending time with my son, going to speech, practicing saying bye and no baby, is not one of them.
Find the joy friends. Don’t waste another minute.
Interested in writing for Finding Cooper’s Voice? LEARN MORE
Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook, subscribe for exclusive videos, and subscribe to our newsletter.
