Annual Raising Special Kids Party

When I think about what a perfect world would look like to me, the picture that comes to mind might be different than yours or that of most people, even.

In my perfect world, my child(ren) would have the same basic abilities as every other child.  They would be able to excel at everything they tried to accomplish, provided they put determination, hard work, and all their effort into their pursuit.  In the future, they could rely on themselves alone to meet their basic needs.  In a perfect world, all of my children could button their own jeans, run and climb and dance, speak and sing and write.  In a perfect world, my children would only be gazed upon by loving, appreciative eyes, and their inner and/or outer beauty would be the first things that people noticed about them.

Now, I don’t need a single human to remind me of what blessings I do have.  My children, all four of them, are downright amazing little souls.  No one knows this truth as much and as well as I do, and yet, people sometimes feel the need to go overboard on reiterating this.  I know, it’s hard to know the right thing to say.  I get that.  I am a just mother who loves her children.  I love them for who they are in this moment, wholly and completely.  I feel gratitude for them so frequently that it’s often distracting.  With this love, I want what every mom wants for her child:  only the best.  I want them to have every opportunity, every worthy experience, every valuable interaction, every chance to be, love, be loved, do, create, learn, and live.  My hopes and dreams for each of my children have not been hampered my their physical differences or ability levels.  So, I guess all this is to say that my mama heart will keep on yearning for my perfect world.

With that said, my second perfect world is a world in which many other children are just like mine.  Wonderful, yes.  Blessings, yes.  Differently abled, yes to that too.  In some cases, missing limbs or without words or wheeling around in chairs instead of skipping on their beautiful feet.  An almost perfect world, to me, is one in which my children can easily assimilate and even thrive… and not just on their level, but on every level, because this world would be brimming with accommodations and helping souls and other moms who “get it”.  This is not meant to be a cruel wish toward other little ones.  It’s a wish for a more understanding and enlightened place, and a more level playing field (and sidewalk while we’re at it) for my children.  (This relates especially to Ari, since Bella seems to take everyone by surprise at how she mightily overcomes every odd set in her path.)

Why am I divulging my secret, inner-mama wishes?  Well, once in a while, I get to visit what would be my second perfect world.  The almost perfect world.  The next best world.  The annual Raising Special Kids Party is one such place.  Here, everyone gets it.  We may not carry around the same labels and diagnoses, but we are all the same.  The caregivers and the parents and the volunteers and the siblings and grandparents and the kids… the very special (not just special needs), but very special kids.  We all can appreciate one another for who we are, with little to no concern for what our bodies can do. 

On this very special day for some very special kids, we played.  And we did a great job at it too.

All of my kids love Gatorade.  It’s the treat of the drink world.

 

Gabe and Bella competed in the games (like everything else).  Notice how she holds the bottle while spraying with her other hand.

  

I can’t blame this girl for wanting to smooch that face. 

Jake broke out his dance moves for our new friends at our lunch table. 

     

We were so happy to have Grammy and Papa there with us this year.  It was so special to have them join us in our world.

            

Just like the year before, we left the party feeling a childlike inner peace and lightheartedness that can be so elusive in the day-to-day.  It was so freeing to be there.  I can’t wait to go back.