No Pity
So we just got back from a great week visiting friends and family up and down the East Coast, which I'll fill you in on later. What was fun about the trip was taking my girls to the places that I spent a lot of time and spending time with people who know me best.
There were so many things that stood out about my trip, but considering this blog is used mostly for my rants, I'll start with those. I am very fortunate to have two of my grandparents alive, well and still full of vinegar. Both are close to 90, live a few towns apart and are complete opposites. I have to tell you about a conversation with one of them.
We were sitting at dinner one night and my grandmother looked at me and said that she had pity for me. Huh? What? Why? Here I was eating pizza, watching the girls run around and I felt completely dumbfounded in that moment. So I look at her and ask what the heck she is talking about. She said I pity you because of what you have to do with and for A.
OK - hold up woman. Here is the good thing about my family, I don't have to hold back. So I immediately said, DON'T. Don't pity me. She is funny, sweet, cute and completely perfect in her own little way. Grandma wasn't trying to be mean,she was doing the opposite and showing that she cared, but it made me stop. In her time if you had a child that was "not normal" there weren't as many services to help and just as important there weren't enough people with an understanding that it's OK to be different. More than OK, it's important to be yourself. Grandma wanted me to feel supported and I truly appreciate that.
I love my grandmother, she has been through more in her life than I will ever know. I know that I use this as a platform for my complaints, but I don't know what I would do without my girls. Well, I'd probably buy less Tylenol, but beyond that life would be so dull.
A in particular has taught and challenged me in so many ways. Her constant questions and talking has taught me to have patience. All of the extra services that she requires has taught me to be an advocate for myself and her. A has taught me the true meaning of kindness, she has taught me to be a little softer with my words and my own understanding of others.
P challenges me with her wittiness and can always make me laugh. She challenges my patience with her attitude and is bracing me for the teenage years. P has also taught me that creativity is alive and needs to be fostered.
Sometimes I wonder if they are teaching me more than I am teaching them.
No pity people: I don't want, need or deserve it. I am blessed by two girls that can put a smile on anyone's face.
There were so many things that stood out about my trip, but considering this blog is used mostly for my rants, I'll start with those. I am very fortunate to have two of my grandparents alive, well and still full of vinegar. Both are close to 90, live a few towns apart and are complete opposites. I have to tell you about a conversation with one of them.
We were sitting at dinner one night and my grandmother looked at me and said that she had pity for me. Huh? What? Why? Here I was eating pizza, watching the girls run around and I felt completely dumbfounded in that moment. So I look at her and ask what the heck she is talking about. She said I pity you because of what you have to do with and for A.
OK - hold up woman. Here is the good thing about my family, I don't have to hold back. So I immediately said, DON'T. Don't pity me. She is funny, sweet, cute and completely perfect in her own little way. Grandma wasn't trying to be mean,she was doing the opposite and showing that she cared, but it made me stop. In her time if you had a child that was "not normal" there weren't as many services to help and just as important there weren't enough people with an understanding that it's OK to be different. More than OK, it's important to be yourself. Grandma wanted me to feel supported and I truly appreciate that.
I love my grandmother, she has been through more in her life than I will ever know. I know that I use this as a platform for my complaints, but I don't know what I would do without my girls. Well, I'd probably buy less Tylenol, but beyond that life would be so dull.
A in particular has taught and challenged me in so many ways. Her constant questions and talking has taught me to have patience. All of the extra services that she requires has taught me to be an advocate for myself and her. A has taught me the true meaning of kindness, she has taught me to be a little softer with my words and my own understanding of others.
P challenges me with her wittiness and can always make me laugh. She challenges my patience with her attitude and is bracing me for the teenage years. P has also taught me that creativity is alive and needs to be fostered.
Sometimes I wonder if they are teaching me more than I am teaching them.
No pity people: I don't want, need or deserve it. I am blessed by two girls that can put a smile on anyone's face.
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