Flexibility is something that I always excelled at in ballet and as an athlete. In my personal life, not so much. It may not surprise you to know that I love structure and plans. Oh, how I love plans! I love knowing that I am going to eat lunch between 11am-12pm. I plan my dinners out a month in advance so that I do not have to think on the fly and my planner is a work of art.
Being a parent in general, but particularly one with special needs has put my flexibility to the test. Test might not be a strong enough word. Perhaps, it has pushed my flexibility to the limit. Either way, it has caused immense anxiety, but I also believe working my “flexibility muscles” has made me a better parent, wife, sibling, friend, etc. And, believe it or not, the anxiety over things not going according to plan has gotten better. I still don’t love it, but I am better at dealing with it than before.
A perfect example is mealtime. Our dinners are unconventional, which I resisted for a long time. When I became a mother, I planned on eating our dinners together around a table and having lively conversation about our days. NOT EVEN CLOSE! For a lot of kids, you can create a tradition of sitting at the table, but that does not work for us for several different reasons. We’ve learned to be flexible with how and where mealtimes take place for our family.
The pictures below were all taken within 7 days of each other. While some may see poor manners and inconsistency, I see a happy little boy who has taught me that where you eat is not nearly as important as eating. I see a determined kid who has worked incredibly hard to learn to use utensils. I see stillness when his body is often going 100 mph. Most of all, I see a precious child of God who is perfectly and uniquely made and absolutely defies everything in my plans, but has taught me more than I could have ever imagined.
Oh my soul he is so cute!
I love how real your blogs are and look forward to reading these. Love you!