Failing my children with special needs in some important, life-altering way used to be one of the looming fears over my life. Myriad problems not easily solved triggered anxiety and misplaced guilt. The quest to be a good parent put me (and maybe puts you) on edge because the stakes are high, and it’s hard to know when good is good enough. Hindsight is golden, however. After almost 25 years of special-needs parenting, some of them spent beating myself up over my faults, I’ve come to a hard-earned peace. No doubt, special-needs parenting is still one of the most challenging things you will do, but our thoughts often make it more difficult than necessary. It would have been so much easier had I believed the following truths (deep, deep in my heart).
YOU, YOUR CHILD, YOUR SITUATION AND GOD’S TIMING CREATE A UNIQUE PACKAGE THAT YOU CANNOT ACCURATELY COMPARE TO ANOTHER’S PARENTING PACKAGE.
It’s easy to watch other parents guide their children and either feel inferior or superior depending on what you see happen at a certain place and time. However, reality is that the skill or personality trait that looks like “good” parenting will appear different in another time and and situation.
