Being a mom, no matter what

While this is a fatherhood blog, Mom’s are also very imoprtant.  This particular blog post, by Karen Ocean, is particularly touching and a nice post for the 4th of July.  Gary.

I often wonder what it would be like to have as many kids as you’d want, because to me the more the better.  I wanted to have a family with lots of kids, they could learn from each other, they’d be friends, they’d work things out, they’d learn to fight over the food that was given, the one who learned to fix something the others couldn’t would help them, the one who was good in one subject would help the others, etc.  Then something clicks in you and you say, wow I’m on overload, they are a lot of money, who knew there would be so many challenges, how come other families who had lots of kids when I was growing up seemed to be doing so well.  Then there is the unknown of the health of your child, even though you might think you know, you just never do.  No matter what the challenge, a mom gets through it!  No matter what!!

My 10 year old is a stroke survivor, having had her stroke when she was born.  She was having seizures the first hours of her life, she was treated after about 15 hours.  It was not the birth I, and my husband, had hoped for.  She had seizures and stopped breathing for the first 3 days of her life.  She remained on medication for months.  At 4 months old, she was still limp when she was held, even then I didn’t think much of it – I loved her no matter what!

Having a child with a physical, emotional, academic or other medical challenge is difficult.  But moms do it no matter what!  Just like moms of typical kids.

Today, my daughter does so many amazing things.  She smiles and I know no matter what I love her!  She may walk on her toes all day, she may have an emotional outburst that may take an hour or more to get under control, she may not follow each conversation or understand all her homework, but she does it!  She reads more books than my immediate and extended family combined in a single week, month or year.  She can’t play sports like typical kids, but she has fun.  She gets headaches and moves on with her day.  She plays video games and I know she’ll beat me when I play with her.  Aren’t we all to rise and shine each day - having fun, sharing experiences and things, seeing the greatest things and learning new ideas?!

If you see someone having a hard time with their child, please remember there may be more to the situation than meets the eye.  Please remember when your acquaintance, family member, or close friend says my child is having difficulty in school or at home or both, know it is a tremendous challenge for a parent.  Be a listener and supporter, but don’t intrude.  Most of all when you see a child and you think they look “just great” remember there is always a back story.  Believe and respect the mom!  No matter what!

There are days when I wish I could have a family full of many kids and then I know the ones I have are just great!  I will love them all no matter what!!