That, and watching the Steelers play football. :)
Tonight I'm watching a slightly better football team. Having been raised in Illinois for most of my life, my hometown team allegiance sways towards the Bears. I grew up mostly in the Ditka era with the Bears of 1985 being one of the best football teams I've ever seen.
My brothers and cousins and I once did a VHS video where we lip synched and acted out the Super Bowl Shuffle. That was 5 minutes of awesomeness
Can anyone tell me what an Athalete is? Someone needs to ask my wife Reba. Funny Homework story in there somewhere.
Tonight I thought I would change course a little. I promise to finish the ideas that I proposed yesterday. But I want to develop those ideas a little more before I put them out here.
Tonight I wanted to talk a little bit about support.
"If you can't be an athlete (hint hint Reba) be an Athletic Supporter"
Favorite movie line evah
If I could translate the movie line above to fit the theme of this blog post today, it would be "if you don't have a child with special needs - Support those that do"
Having a child with special needs makes every day a Monday. Really, it does. There are no breaks. There are no moments of down time. Every minute of every day is a day where your every sense is on high alert waiting for that "moment" to happen. There are times when the moment can be diffused, but never eliminated. Even the most organized and prepared parent (of which I am not) will get caught by the moment. Now take that moment times 365 days a year. That'll give you a glimpse into the lives of parents with special needs children.
I have to tell you though - I wouldn't trade it for anything. Bailey has taught me more about myself and life then I could ever have learned by myself. Seeing life through Bailey's eyes makes me a better person. It makes me a better dad.
But every person has a limit to the stress and "moments" that they can take...so for those people I wanted to write some suggestions...
1. Build a support system - and use it! This can be hard, because if you're like me (stubborn and pigheaded) you don't think you need help and you can figure out everything yourself. Trust me, no matter how organized and logical you are, no one can handle the burden of a special needs child all by themselves. Don't feel bad to ask friends and family for help. Make a plan, outline where needs exist, and share those with your support system.
2. Make some down time for yourself - don't just take it, make it! Prepare in advance for a break away from the normal flow of your environment. Even if you just consult with your spouse for a few minutes to get away and unplug, try and take this down time at least once a day.
3. Communicate with your spouse about your child. About your fears, your thoughts, your ideas. Having a special needs child requires that both parents are on the same page. Open lines of communication facilitate this and help keep the family intact.
4. Try the best you can to "listen" to your child. By this, I don't mean necessarily the spoken word, but the unspoken. Sometimes actions do speak louder than words. It's important to keep track of the non verbal queues to address issues before they arise.
I'm not a pro at this. To be honest I'm still learning. But I have found that the steps above can help you survive the craziness.
Take care my friends.
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