Ordinary Days

Last night was a bit rough. Elijah was up every 30 minutes, sneezing and coughing. Eventually, at about 3 am I decided to bring him into bed with us. Normally, being in mom and dad's bed is too thrilling for Elijah. He'll look at the alarm clock, his monitor, or anything that emits light and laugh. Laughing isn't really conducive to sleeping. We learned long ago that sleeping with us just didn't work and we stopped bringing him in our room. A blessing, perhaps, to have our bed to ourselves. But last night was different. Elijah snuggled in laying on top of me (just like he used to when he was a baby), wiped his slime all over me, and went to sleep. He slept until the morning and we did too.

Whenever Elijah gets all snugly, I get nostalgic. I remember in these moments that this will all be over soon. Elijah will only be this little once. Someday soon he'll be too big to lay on top of me in our bed. He'll be too big for me to cradle in my arms. He'll be too big to pick up and rock. He's already getting too big.

Perhaps this is a lesson that has come slower to me than most parents because Elijah achieves milestones later than his neuro-typical peers. Sometimes it seems like we'll be stuck in a developmental stage forever. And then everything changes and I realize that soon he'll be a full-fledged boy, and teenager, and then adult. It'll be here sooner than I realize. I'd better soak it up, take it all in, and enjoy every single moment. Milestones or not, Elijah will get older. Things will change.

Elijah's babyness is pretty much gone. He's a toddler, a little boy - there really isn't much baby left in him. And I wish I'd have enjoyed the baby-Elijah more instead of worrying so much (something I hear a lot of other special needs parents say too). But what I can do is to enjoy him NOW - exactly as he is. I can enjoy each and every ordinary day we have. Because I'm sure my parents look at me, their youngest, and think "Where did the time go?" (Thanks for everything mom and dad!).

Ellen shared the following video on her blog and I wanted to share it here too. It's author Katrina Kenison reading from her book The Gift of an Ordinary Day (now I want to read it!). No, it's not about special needs and some of the things the author says won't be relatable to all parents. But I think the lesson is the same...to enjoy every single moment. Milestones or inchstones, childhood is gone before we know it. We'd better enjoy every moment.

If you're a parent you'd better grab your tissues, because I can pretty much guarantee that your eyes will leak.




I'm going to enjoy this ordinary therapy-free day at home with our snotty-nose boy. I hope you have an ordinary day too.

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Did You Know It's Already Been

a week since Thanksgiving?

Does anyone else sometimes feel like life is passing by in fast forward? My weeks seem exceptionally long and yet they pass in the blink of an eye. Am I the only one?

At times, I feel so overwhelmed by life. Is it just me? I mean, there's always so much to be done, so much I'd like to do doing. So much therapy, teaching, hoping to do for Elijah. There's always something to do, from housework to therapy, to writing emails (I'm so behind) to updating this blog (which I love to do). Where is the time to just be, to just sit and read and be together without thoughts of what needs to be done?

Thanksgiving gave us a chance to do just that: relax, to read, to sit with family and talk and do...nothing. I like nothing sometimes. I took a several day break from the Internet. Sometimes it's nice to get away. With that said, I'm thankful for this crazy life of ours. I'm thankful for family and friends who've been so helpful and supportive over the past two years. I'm thankful for people who cheer Elijah on, who watch him with a smile on their faces. I'm thankful for people who see the miracles when they see our son. I'm thankful for acceptance and for hope. I'm thankful for my bloggy friends.

I write Elijahland posts in my head often. I wish I'd get them on "paper" more often, because I'd intended to write a post about how thankful I was for Thanksgiving...and a week has already passed me by. Can someone tell me where the slow-mo button is? I can't seem to find it.

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