I normally would just post a small paragraph on Sharon's Birthday. Sharon is 6 today. I have often referred to Sharon as God's Grace to me. Like most parents our lives changed when we had children.When you have a child with special needs it tends to change a little more than usual. I went along the first three years of her life knowing she was a little behind. And eventually we would get her caught up. But when we had her go into an early childhood program it became quite clear. God made Sharon a little different than the rest.
It wasn't very long after that we got her diagnosis that would now be referred to as just Autism.
Like every parent that gets that word said to them it was a little scary. But Sharon was Sharon even after we went to the doctor. We just had a direction. And mounts of paperwork to get her therapy. Yes you don't have even a second to breath it in before you have to spring into action. Which was fine it was a nice distraction. And being able to do something was better than not doing nothing. We filled out the paperwork sent it in. And got an answer back. Now we only had to wait a year.
Like I said she is 6 today. And you will find a much different girl. She does not run and hide when she sees another person. She instead says hello. She can tell me a lot of things. And she is progressing like never before. It amazes me with all the obstacles that are in her brain what she can do. I am amazed by her. I am inspired by her. I know that when I read the bible and see the work that God does in Moses, Peter, and Paul hold true. More than ever. Look at His work in Sharon is amazing. And I feel blessed to be the parent who gets to see that.
Sure we have struggles. We have challenges. I am not shying away from that at all. But to be able to see the results of the design is worth the pain. I guess that is the technician in me. I like her working. I like to see how she is going to react to a certain situation differently. I am learning. Just like any other mother of a child. I like seeing my child grow.
Sharon makes us laugh. We have a good time just watching her go about her business. There is no greater joy than to see her smile. I often do silly things in the car to make her smile, not caring what I look like. It is worth it to see that smile. She gets the giggles and can't stop laughing. That makes the world go round. The therapist love that. Sometimes that gets in the way of getting ready for bed. But it is hard to get mad when somebody is constantly laughing.
The question is always asked: Don't you wish you had a normal family? The answer is: After much deliberation, This is God's normal for us. And when your oldest has special needs the youngest adapts some behaviors that take time to work out. So we are not the "Typical" family. But that is not what God intended for us. Sometime when I look at another family and see a child not struggling at certain things it is hard for a second. But I know that child is not perfect either. I know they have struggles as well. Not the same as Sharon's but struggles either way. I know that family has their own thing to deal with. And they have their own Normal. I'm not trading mine.
