To the mothers who haven't yet heard "I love you"

I want to celebrate the mothers of children with special needs. After experiencing what is to have a child with developmental delays and a rare disorder (OMA), I have learned to understand better what you endure. I have a unique respect and admiration for all of you, specially the ones that have children with severe health issues, and so have to keep it up even harder. You are all amazing women, and only you have taken motherhood a step further. Truly, love is at its finest every single time you handle each obstacle as an opportunity, with your child's happiness as your only goal. Even though most of us haven't yet heard "I love you," please know they tell you so, every time they smile.

Below, two of my favorite poems dedicated to special moms like you.

To the mothers who haven’t yet heard “I love you,”

To the mothers who do not yet have a name,

To the mothers who know what it is to believe in your child

when it seems like no one else does,

To the mothers who are interpreters,

To the mothers who are their child’s voice,

To the mothers who have had to become the expert,

To the mothers who do not take no for an answer,

To the mothers who stay awake every night worrying about what is to come,

To the mothers who never let their child see them cry for them,

It gets better.

“My doctor told me I would never walk again.  

My mother told me I would.  I believed my mother.”

Wilma Rudolph

*

Did you ever wonder how mothers

of special needs children are chosen?

Some how I visualize God hovering over earth

selecting his instruments for propagation

with great care and deliberation.

He passes a name to an angel and smiles.

 "Give her a special needs child."

The angel is curious.

"Why this one God? She's so happy."

"Exactly" smiles God.

"Could I give a handicapped child

to a mother who does not know laughter?

That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" Asked the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience

or she will drown in a sea of self-pity, and despair.

Once the anger and resentment wear off,

she'll handle it.

Yes, there is a woman

I will bless with a child 'less than perfect. '

She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied.

She will never take for granted a spoken word.

She will never consider a step 'ordinary'.

When her child say's 'Momma' for the first time,

she will be present at a miracle and know it!

I will permit her to see clearly the things I see

-ignorance, cruelty, prejudice -

and allow her to rise above them.

 She will never be alone.

I will be at her side every day of her life

because she is doing My work

as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?"

asks the angel, his pen poised in midair

God smiles, "a mirror will suffice.""

Erma Bombeck

Thank you for being your child's best advocate. Happy Mother's day!