Iām going to share a little secret that is often hidden by my mostly positive writing; raising a child like Eddie is pretty hard. Multiple times a day an overwhelming feeling of anxiety starts to build, and I do my best to block it, but it is always there under the surface. I could easily focus on the struggles he faces every dayā¦and the fear that I canāt help him. Honestly, sometimes I canāt help but focus on thatā¦but not today. Today, Iām focusing on being thankful.
Iām thankful for his ridiculously contagious laughter, which comes out of nowhere, and makes us wonder if heās possessed.
Iām thankful for his hugs, and air kisses, because heās never quite patient enough to make it all the way to my cheek.
Iām thankful for his willingness to use a white cane, even if he hasnāt quite figured out its intended purpose.
Iām thankful for the dedicated staff at his school, and their willingness to work hard for Eddie, when I know Iām not always a picnicā¦and neither is Eddie.
Iām thankful for a certain occupational therapy āguruā who has just agreed to evaluate my son, even though she has no time, and owes us nothing.
Iām thankful for a foundation in our area, which awarded Eddie a grant, so we donāt have to deny him what he needs.
Iām thankful for my husband, who is the best father I have ever met.
I’m thankful for my daughters, who surprise, amaze, and entertain me every day.
Iām thankful for having so much family that we simply canāt be with them all on Thanksgivingā¦and Iām thankful that they all want us there, and accept Eddie for who he is.
Finally, this Thanksgiving, Iām most thankful for having known my Grandfather-in-law, who we unexpectedly lost last weekend. He was without a doubt the biggest fan of this blog, even though he never got on the internet. Family printed off copies of my postings, and he faithfully stowed them chronologically in a binder and referred to it as his ābook.ā
He often spoke about Eddie, and knew Eddie really well because of reading the ābook.ā He had a greater understanding of my family, because he always took the time to readā¦ask questionsā¦and simply care. He was a generous, loving manā¦and thanks to him, so is Eddieās dad.
So, on this day, the only overwhelming anxiety I feel, is that I wonāt be sending a copy of this article to himā¦and his ābookā will remain the same. But as with all anxiety I face, Iām not going to focus on that, because he wouldnāt want me to feel that way.
In honor of him, Iām going to instead continue to focus on being thankful. Thankful for Eddie, for our family, for support, and for a man that Iāll continue to think about every time I writeā¦and that I know is still reading every word.
If you have a child with a visual impairment in your family…please comment below. What are you thankful for…how do you keep being thankful?