My son and I had a long, tiring, stressful day at Children’s Hospital today. We end many of these appointments feeling drained and emotionally spent. I don’t often talk about the impact these visits have on us. As a parent of a child with special needs, it’s just part of your life.
But as I drive home from these visits with my beautiful, silent child in the backseat, my mind is always racing. A fuzzy desperate anxiety invades my brain. My “to do” list swirls in my head…“I have to fill out that insurance form…. I have to call cardiology back… oops, I think the school nurse needed a new medical form… where did I put the Rx for his orthotics? … surgery date.” And as fast as your mind is going, so is your car. You have to drop him back at school so he won’t have an absence on his record. You have to get back to work. You have to clean up the house and find something for dinner.
“Eehhh??!!” A familiar cry stops my train of thought. I look in the rear-view mirror and see him pointing back at something on the side of the road. “What buddy? What do you see?” “Eeehh??!!” Still pointing. Then he makes the sign for “Eat.” And I see it. His favorite restaurant. I paused. And made a u-turn.
A little boy who has no words reminded me that sometimes the chaos of life can wait. Sometimes you need to turn around and pause. And our day will be better for it. Friends… in this crazy month of back to school don’t forget to pause, even for a second… your “to do list” isn’t going anywhere.
