Today when we woke up, I was quite excited to take part in A PT session with my Zoie today! We took the past three weeks off, because of sickness, and the four naps a day we were taking, so today, we were ready to hit it hard! We did some sitting, kneeling, standing in our stander, standing with leg braces, and rocking on hands and knees. Lots to squeeze into one hour. To be honest, Zoie hasn't used her stander since we moved. As we put her in it, we noticed her head was about four inches above the head support, her legs didn't need strapped in because she was standing fine without them, and the waist strap was now at hips. All wonderful problems to have! We will just need to work on adjusting it a bit since Zoie has apparently grown a ton over the summer! It was neat to see what a little/big person she looked like in it. It was also pretty neat to undo a few straps and see her still weight bare.
I do my best at playing with Zoie, at teaching her, working with her hands, standing, all the many things we work on. I also have learned that having a "Zoie" takes balance. You can get so caught up in therapies, and what should my kid be doing, that you don't really enjoy life. It's about finding that balance, making a list of accomplishments for the day, half of them therapy and learning related, a few errands, and the rest play!
When Derik was off the last four days, sure, we sat and played with Zoie, we read a million books, but we also enjoyed life and didn't worry about our goals. We went on a huge slide, and did bumper boats. I'm sure Zoie learned something from this, but that's not why we did it. We refuse to spend our life consumed by therapies and goals and comparisons. We like crossing stuff off our bucket list. We like taking adventures and thouroughly enjoying life. I wish I could make every parent of a special needs kiddo understand this, and I'm sure lots do, but if you get consumed with what your child should be doing, life will most definitely pass you by.
Balance is taking the good with the bad, it's about working hard and playing hard, it's about finding that perfect line to walk that will get you where you feel most comfortable being in life. I like how we have the choice to balance out our own life.
Special needs parent or not, balance is something everyone needs. So, if you haven't had time to enjoy your kids, or your spouse, in a while, make sure you set aside what needs to be happening, and make sure you're having some fun!
I remember when you were born, 4 very short years ago. School wasn't even in your dad and I's minds. It's almost as if we forgot that when you have a child, part of them growing up is sending them off to school. You would think this would have crossed my mind being an Elementary Ed Grad, but we were so caught up in the now, and making sure we took our lives day by day, that no, school never came up. We decided to keep you home for your first year of preschool, due to your Cystic Fibrosis and learning delays. We wanted to strengthen your immune system an extra year, keep working on home therapies to help your brain development, speech, and muscle movement. You also had a very special friend at home to learn and grow with you; your baby sister Ivie. The last year you two have taught each other so much, she has pushed you, and you have pushed her. I'm so thankful we kept you home for that extra year! We have found a great preschool for you! It's called the Monroe Ear
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