My name is Emily. My husband and I are parents to three unique children including my middle child, Eddie, who is blind with multiple disabilities. For what I can only say were therapeutic reasons, I recently began writing short “journal” entries about the interesting aspects of raising Eddie.
What I quickly realized was that my intended audience was other parents like me. Parents that had children with visual impairments and could relate to my stories without feeling anything but understanding and familiarity. FamilyConnect has given me the opportunity to reach that intended audience.
If you happen to read some of my entries now or in the future, you will see that I am a person with few secrets. I like to share. I am generally optimistic, but also have days where I just can’t get there. I will openly admit that having a child with special needs isn’t very easy.
In my real life, I am often too proud to say that I need help and I like everyone to think I have my act together. It is simply too hard explaining to friends without a child like Eddie that some of my days are extremely difficult. I feel that when I meet families like mine, I can let my guard down, and that is what I hope to do with this blog.
I am opening up my life to others in the hope that parents like me will be inspired to share, to reflect, and to ask for guidance. Also, I hope that family members of said parents will be able to grasp how complicated and exciting our lives can be. Please comment on my posts to support or question my opinions and actions.
Remember, I am only one mom from a rural town practically in the middle of nowhere. Your stories and insights are equally as important as mine and just as interesting if not more so. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the humorous, sometimes difficult, look into my life. I am anxious to begin this online relationship and know that through supporting each other, we will be better parents for our children.