Today my first born turns 25. It feels unreal that my first baby is 25 years old. Of course I remember everything about his pregnancy and birth as all mothers do. I also remember how hard it was to raise Thomas. We were given this baby who grew into a toddler but not a typical toddler and not one specialist/ doctor was of any help to us. It was hard, so hard.
Did Thomas being “different”stop us from having more children? Nah… that would make too much sense, besides I wouldn’t have missed raising our girls for the world. We made decisions and choices for our family and Thomas when he was growing up that no parents should ever have to make. But that is water under the bridge and I regret nothing. I love Maya Angelou’s quote, “We did the best we could with what we knew…when we knew more, we did better.”
It’s difficult to reflect back on Thomas’ childhood without being melancholy. I fought and fought for help for him from the time he was a baby all through his teens. But I don’t expect or want a pat on the back. I’m no different than any other mother of a special needs child. Thomas changed me. He made me be very vocal, I used to be relatively quiet. Thomas gave me a loud voice. Thomas made me more open minded, I used to be a bit judgemental. After Thomas…nope not so much. I met the greatest people ever because of Thomas; women who became soul sistahs and others, ones that I admire more than I can ever express. I was fortunate to have these women in my life. So 25…it’s a milestone for Thomas and us. We all made it!
Menay O; mom to 4, Christian and thrift shopper on the side... 