Grateful

Welcome back, Lovelies! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I have had a weekend of reflection, myself. I've been thinking about all of the ups and downs, the back and forth. Being the parent of a child with autism can be one of the most stressful things any mother has ever gone through. You know what? While I wouldn't wish a child with autism to any parent in the world, let alone that any child be diagnosed with it; I'm actually grateful for my Princess with autism.

I know it sounds strange, but there is a reason for this. Yes, autism has become the X-Factor in our household. We wont know how a day is going to go until we hear from Senor Autism. But the fact is, I'm growing weary about seeing some of the fear producing tactics used to justify something is unsafe. Vaccines for instance-- No, this is not a debate. It is only an example.-- have been a culprit for years about the dangers of vaccinating leading to autism. The way it sounds is as if it's the worst thing in the world to have your child diagnosed with autism. I'm here to tell you it isn't always pleasant, but it certainly isn't the worst thing in the world.

You see, with the Princess, you can take any and all affection at face value. If she hugs you, she means to hug you and give you all the love she can give. Her smiles are so genuine you can't help but smile back, because she's truly happy. Her laughter is equally as infectious. When she's upset, sure, the varying levels of what might be wrong can be up for interpretation. The point is that she isn't pretending. Something is very wrong to her.

The other great thing about having the diagnosis for autism is that suddenly, you are not alone. Teaching, training and guiding, all of it you have help with. Since her diagnosis, the Princess has been in specialized preschool. She has teachers who know and love her and will fight for her. She has occupational therapists and speech therapists to help. Yes, I am a stay at home mom which means the child rearing stuff, that's on me. For everything else, I have help. It's wonderful.

I know now, because of her diagnosis that her delays were not something that I was doing wrong. This knowledge and acceptance has benefited me the most. I spent my days leading up to her diagnosis wondering at each and everything what I was doing that wasn't allowing her to hit those basic milestones. Now, I understand that it wasn't me, it was her autism holding her back. Knowing this, I will help her move forward through the murk that is her autism, I will be by her side all the way.

The absolute best part for me? Probably when we went on an outing to a park with many others with children of varying ages. In that park was a gentleman wearing a speedo. Not sure why at the park and not a beach, but to each their own. Every other child there the Princess' age and up-- To a certain point, of course.-- turned to their parents and asked why. Not mine. While all of the other parents there had to come up with answers and explanations for their little ones, my little royals were blissfully ignorant. I was grateful.

Don't get me wrong, if I could turn back time and somehow fix the Princess' autism, I would. In a second. I can't. I can't change what is, I can only accept and move forward. I need to teach my children how to do exactly that, and I will lead by example. These are life lessons I think we can all stand to learn. Even in the darkness of your worst fear coming to life-- In any form, for me it was my child being diagnosed for autism. For you it could be something entirely different.-- if you find something to be grateful for, you have all the light you need to get through it.