Can I be honest? When I first thought of the title for this post, it left a bad taste in my mouth. “Blessing” and “special needs” in the same sentence? Surely not! How can going to therapy 1-3 times almost every day, being exasperated with my son’s behavior, and being completely exhausted all the time be a blessing? But when I stopped to think about it, I realized that along this journey I’ve learned a few things… ok a lot of things and counting my blessings is one of them. I’ve realized what a blessing this life can really be. I have so much to be thankful for and it only takes a short time to realize just how much! I’m thankful for my son who has taught me so much about life and love. His zest (and sometimes extra energy) for life always amazes me and I love seeing things through his eyes. I am thankful that he has special needs because those needs have taught me how to be his advocate. It has taught me more patience than anything in the world and it has taught me that true love comes in all kinds of forms. I’m thankful for this life because it has been a huge learning experience. The driving miles and miles to therapy every day has taught me to be thankful for our car. The dealing with insurance companies, therapists and doctors has taught me how to ask the right questions and receive the best care that we possibly can and to not just take what we are given. The money we have spent on all of this has taught me to be thankful for what we have. Every day it’s a learning experience. I’m thankful for the therapists and doctors who see us all the time and who take the time to care. People who train themselves so that they can help others have a better life. I admire these people and I thank God for them every day because they are what help us give my son a better chance. Their smiles, their willingness to help, and sometimes even putting their foot down in telling me what needs to be done. They are amazing. I am thankful for the chance to see my son improve bit by bit, inch by inch. The words that are slowly being formed, the food that he is now willing to try, the things he now can do that he could not do before. These are things that special needs moms live for. When the next day comes and when I am at my wit’s end, and I don’t know what to do, I know I can look back on this list and be thankful for these blessings. Because even on my hardest day, I am more blessed than I can even imagine. I have my son and that is the biggest blessing of all.
Kathryn is a 25 year old military wife to her Air Force husband and a stay-at-home mom to her 2 year old son who has Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. She blogs at
www.singingthroughtherain.net about marriage, motherhood, and military life.
Can I be honest? When I first thought of the title for this post, it left a bad taste in my mouth. “Blessing” and “special needs” in the same sentence? Surely not! How can going to therapy 1-3 times almost every day, being exasperated with my son’s behavior, and being completely exhausted all the time be a blessing? But when I stopped to think about it, I realized that along this journey I’ve learned a few things… ok a lot of things and counting my blessings is one of them. I’ve realized what a blessing this life can really be. I have so much to be thankful for and it only takes a short time to realize just how much! I’m thankful for my son who has taught me so much about life and love. His zest (and sometimes extra energy) for life always amazes me and I love seeing things through his eyes. I am thankful that he has special needs because those needs have taught me how to be his advocate. It has taught me more patience than anything in the world and it has taught me that true love comes in all kinds of forms. I’m thankful for this life because it has been a huge learning experience. The driving miles and miles to therapy every day has taught me to be thankful for our car. The dealing with insurance companies, therapists and doctors has taught me how to ask the right questions and receive the best care that we possibly can and to not just take what we are given. The money we have spent on all of this has taught me to be thankful for what we have. Every day it’s a learning experience. I’m thankful for the therapists and doctors who see us all the time and who take the time to care. People who train themselves so that they can help others have a better life. I admire these people and I thank God for them every day because they are what help us give my son a better chance. Their smiles, their willingness to help, and sometimes even putting their foot down in telling me what needs to be done. They are amazing. I am thankful for the chance to see my son improve bit by bit, inch by inch. The words that are slowly being formed, the food that he is now willing to try, the things he now can do that he could not do before. These are things that special needs moms live for. When the next day comes and when I am at my wit’s end, and I don’t know what to do, I know I can look back on this list and be thankful for these blessings. Because even on my hardest day, I am more blessed than I can even imagine. I have my son and that is the biggest blessing of all. 
Kathryn is a 25 year old military wife to her Air Force husband and a stay-at-home mom to her 2 year old son who has Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. She blogs at www.singingthroughtherain.net about marriage, motherhood, and military life.
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