Perspective

Today's gift is perspective.

Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if one thing was different?  I didn't until I had to. 

We are getting ready to go on a family vacation and as I was starting to pack I was thinking about all the things I had to remember for everyone.  I feel like the list will never end.....clothes (for 5 people), shoes (for 5 people), personal items, toys (each child can take one bookbag full of items that they want), books (for all of us), beach bag, towels, snacks, camera, video camera from my daughter's room, sound machines, box fan, ipads, movies, phone/ipad chargers, medicine, my daughter's AFO (brace for her leg), wike trailer, pool toys, snacks and foods that I don't want to have to buy once we get to our destination.  Reading this list it doesn't seem like a lot, but somehow all this "stuff" takes up an entire Yukon XL, with a Thule on top!  I feel like we always bring so much "stuff" and I wish we could pack one bag and just be able to jump in the car and go!

However, we can't because we have to think of all the things we need that will make my daughter happy and what will keep her happy if she gets upset, along with her AFO and medicines that we can't get over the counter.  We have to be ready to pull out all the tricks we know in case the ugly Rett Monster rears its head!

But then I stop and think....what am I complaining about....I don't have it nearly as hard as other families who have a child with special needs.  Her "must haves" for traveling are her ipad, medicine, AFO, movies and her wike trailer/cruiser (depending on our destination).  This is nothing considering all of them, can fit into one medium sized bag except the last two!  I instantly, start thinking of all my friends who have a child also with special needs, but whose child requires more "stuff" when they travel....nebulizers, wheelchairs, tube feedings, AFO's, suction machines, longer lists of medicines, glasses, walkers, and the list goes on and on....

Your perspective changes when you have to look at your life differently and there is no choice, like when our family received the news that my oldest daughter has Rett Syndrome.   However, your perspective also changes when you compare yourself to someone else who lives in your shoes, but on a different level (another family who has a child with special needs). 

My life with my daughter who has Rett Syndrome is not easy, but it is easier than other families I know who also have a child with special needs.  I didn't truly appreciate this perspective until my daughter was a little older and we could start doing things more as a family unit.  Of course, there will also be a part of me that wishes we could go and do like I always dreamed we would as a family before Rett entered our lives.  Now I am just thankful for all that we can do and will do as a family.

Here are some quotes for today....

A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way- Allen Klein

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are- Theodore Roosevelt

Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life- Gregory Peck