Thanks Moms!*
Before I had a child, I'd watch parents with children and think "gee, raising kids can't be as tough as it looks". Now I know: it's even tougher.
But Moms do it. Sickness, injury, dribbling and throwing food, getting lost at the mall, getting a call from the lock up, the whole thing. Years of it, day after day. One foot in front of the other.
Among all moms there is a group that deserves a special call out: mothers of children with disabilities. As tough as it is to be a "regular" mom, it is so much tougher still to live with the heartbreak of a wounded child, the physical exhaustion and lowered income from tending to special needs, the unending tension-filled meetings with specialists and school staff. The increased rates of divorce and poverty. Planning for adulthood, or in some cases the death of a young child. Always the worry, worry. These mothers are special angels.
As challenging as it all is, I don't know a mother of any child, "typical" or disabled, who'd trade their role away if given the chance. (At least most of the time.) Their efforts cultivate love, and love is the most wonderful fruit of our universe.
God bless you all, mothers, today and every day. Thank you for your role in filling our world with wonderful children, our next generation.
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*and Dads too, but we get a different day so stay out of the limelight now, OK?