Swimming in the Ocean
I've started comparing the emotional journey of parenting a special needs child to swimming in the ocean. When your child is born/diagnosed it's like being thrown in. You may know how to swim in the calm waters of a swimming pool or maybe you just know the basics of treading water, but either way, those skills are only marginally helpful when swimming in the ocean. The first wave hits you and you go under getting drug around by the current, losing track of where you started. But eventually you pop up for air and start to reorient yourself. Before you've been able to really grasp what just happened to you, another wave hits and you're under water, floundering yet again. Wave after wave hits you (missed milestones, birthdays, looks from strangers, assessments, lost friendships...), exhausting you, and challenging you to just keep coming up for air. But you start to learn that eventually the current will ease and you will be able to breathe again. ...