Guest guest Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 thanks for posting! > > This was posted on another list I'm on & I thought it was so good, I > just had to share it. > Here is to all you wonderful parents out there! > ************* > > Mothers of children with disabilities worthy of praise > By Lori Borgman Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service > > Expectant mothers waiting for a newborn's arrival say they don't > care what sex the baby is. They just want it to have ten fingers and > ten toes. > Mothers lie. > > Every mother wants so much more. She wants a perfectly healthy baby > with a round head, rosebud lips, button nose, beautiful eyes and > satin skin. She wants a baby so gorgeous that people will pity the > Gerber baby for being flat-out ugly. > > She wants a baby that will roll over, sit up and take those first > steps right on schedule (according to the baby development chart on > page 57, column two). > > Every mother wants a baby that can see, hear, run, jump and fire > neurons by the billions. > She wants a kid that can smack the ball out of the park and do toe > points that are the envy of the entire ballet class. Call it greed > if you want, but a mother wants what a mother wants. Some mothers > get babies with something more. > > Maybe you're one who got a baby with a condition you couldn't > pronounce, a spine that didn't fuse, a missing chromosome or a > palette that didn't close. The doctor's words took your breath away. > It was just like the time at recess in the fourth > grade when you didn't see the kick ball coming and it knocked the > wind right out of you. > > Some of you left the hospital with a healthy bundle, then, months, > even years later, took him in for a routine visit, or scheduled her > for a well check, and crashed head first into a brick wall as you > bore the brunt of devastating news. > > It didn't seem possible. That didn't run in your family. Could this > really be happening in your lifetime? > > I watch the Olympics for the sheer thrill of seeing finely sculpted > bodies. It's not a lust thing, it's a wondrous thing. They appear as > specimens without flaw -- muscles, strength and coordination all > working in perfect harmony. > Then an athlete walks over to a tote bag, rustles through the > contents and pulls out an inhaler. > > There's no such thing as a perfect body. Everybody will bear > something at some time or another. Maybe the affliction will be > apparent to curious eyes, or maybe it will be unseen, quietly > treated with trips to the doctor, therapy or > surgery. Mothers of children with disabilities live the limitations > with them. > > ly, I don't know how you do it. Sometimes you mothers scare me. > How you lift that kid in and out of the wheelchair twenty times a > day. How you monitor tests, track medications, and serve as the > gatekeeper to a hundred specialists yammering in your ear. > > I wonder how you endure the clichés and the platitudes, the well- > intentioned souls explaining how God is at work when you've > occasionally questioned if God is on strike. > > I even wonder how you endure chmaltzy columns like this one -- > saluting you, painting you as hero and saint, when you know you're > ordinary. You snap, you bark, you bite. You didn't volunteer for > this, you didn't jump up and down in the motherhood line > yelling, " Choose me, God. Choose me! I've got what it takes. " > > You're a woman who doesn't have time to step back and put things in > perspective, so let me do it for you. From where I sit, you're way > ahead of the pack. You've developed the strength of a draft horse > while holding onto the delicacy of a > daffodil. You have a heart that melts like chocolate in a glove box > in July, counter-balanced against the stubbornness of an Ozark mule. > You are the mother, advocate and protector of a child with a > disability. You're a neighbour, a friend, a woman I pass at church > and my sister-in-law. You're a wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I agree! Brought tears to my eyes and I have sent it to several friends. Beth > > > > This was posted on another list I'm on & I thought it was so good, > I > > just had to share it. > > Here is to all you wonderful parents out there! > > ************* > > > > Mothers of children with disabilities worthy of praise > > By Lori Borgman Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service > > > > Expectant mothers waiting for a newborn's arrival say they don't > > care what sex the baby is. They just want it to have ten fingers > and > > ten toes. > > Mothers lie. > > > > Every mother wants so much more. She wants a perfectly healthy baby > > with a round head, rosebud lips, button nose, beautiful eyes and > > satin skin. She wants a baby so gorgeous that people will pity the > > Gerber baby for being flat-out ugly. > > > > She wants a baby that will roll over, sit up and take those first > > steps right on schedule (according to the baby development chart on > > page 57, column two). > > > > Every mother wants a baby that can see, hear, run, jump and fire > > neurons by the billions. > > She wants a kid that can smack the ball out of the park and do toe > > points that are the envy of the entire ballet class. Call it greed > > if you want, but a mother wants what a mother wants. Some mothers > > get babies with something more. > > > > Maybe you're one who got a baby with a condition you couldn't > > pronounce, a spine that didn't fuse, a missing chromosome or a > > palette that didn't close. The doctor's words took your breath > away. > > It was just like the time at recess in the fourth > > grade when you didn't see the kick ball coming and it knocked the > > wind right out of you. > > > > Some of you left the hospital with a healthy bundle, then, months, > > even years later, took him in for a routine visit, or scheduled her > > for a well check, and crashed head first into a brick wall as you > > bore the brunt of devastating news. > > > > It didn't seem possible. That didn't run in your family. Could this > > really be happening in your lifetime? > > > > I watch the Olympics for the sheer thrill of seeing finely sculpted > > bodies. It's not a lust thing, it's a wondrous thing. They appear > as > > specimens without flaw -- muscles, strength and coordination all > > working in perfect harmony. > > Then an athlete walks over to a tote bag, rustles through the > > contents and pulls out an inhaler. > > > > There's no such thing as a perfect body. Everybody will bear > > something at some time or another. Maybe the affliction will be > > apparent to curious eyes, or maybe it will be unseen, quietly > > treated with trips to the doctor, therapy or > > surgery. Mothers of children with disabilities live the limitations > > with them. > > > > ly, I don't know how you do it. Sometimes you mothers scare > me. > > How you lift that kid in and out of the wheelchair twenty times a > > day. How you monitor tests, track medications, and serve as the > > gatekeeper to a hundred specialists yammering in your ear. > > > > I wonder how you endure the clichés and the platitudes, the well- > > intentioned souls explaining how God is at work when you've > > occasionally questioned if God is on strike. > > > > I even wonder how you endure chmaltzy columns like this one -- > > saluting you, painting you as hero and saint, when you know you're > > ordinary. You snap, you bark, you bite. You didn't volunteer for > > this, you didn't jump up and down in the motherhood line > > yelling, " Choose me, God. Choose me! I've got what it takes. " > > > > You're a woman who doesn't have time to step back and put things in > > perspective, so let me do it for you. From where I sit, you're way > > ahead of the pack. You've developed the strength of a draft horse > > while holding onto the delicacy of a > > daffodil. You have a heart that melts like chocolate in a glove box > > in July, counter-balanced against the stubbornness of an Ozark > mule. > > You are the mother, advocate and protector of a child with a > > disability. You're a neighbour, a friend, a woman I pass at church > > and my sister-in-law. You're a wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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