A word of encouragement- small steps

Focus on today’s small steps and before you know it you will be looking at Life’s great success.

It’s hard to explain my persistent optimism especially since I’m a self-proclaimed “worrier”. But thru this process I have consistently focused on doing what I could and being thrilled with whatever progress Lindsey made- especially on the days that were tough. I have even asked friends and family to be frank, to be candid to tell me if they saw the same progress.  I have never thought about 10yrs from now, I do not focus on 10 months from now, I focus only on today. Today is what I have control over and today I can try to help her heal.

 Each improvement, each obstacle overcome, each mark of progress is celebrated- most typically with a conversation with my husband or a phone call to family. Family and close friends have become critical – they are the ones that call and ask, “How is Lindsey doing?” or make mention of how well she has started completing a particular task. Having that support has kept me sane. Having that network to lean on when the day has been tough,  to call while crying because a teacher meeting has gone so wrong or perhaps to call and be joyous because of the smallest step forward with a program has finally come to fruition has been essential to our progress.

I don’t want to mislead anyone, I have spent nights worrying, I’ve spent time on my knees praying and I have spent time crying on my husband’s shoulder. I never want to seem like a super hero that is going thru this process unscathed. This is tough stuff, this is the development and success of my child. But I have found that each day she has made some type of progress. Yes, there are days where she is frustrated and screams a lot or pitches a fit- and as bad as those days are- they are still victories. It wasn’t that long ago that she didn’t care about anything. She didn’t play or want or need- those were the days she was in a fog. At least now she has improved enough to have an opinion or a desire. The small victories really can be found EVERYDAY.

This entire post seems a bit “ramble-y” – but I promise there is a point. Please keep moving forward, don’t let the hard days stop you and don’t overlook the progress that is made- its really easy to worry about the future and what may be. Try your hardest not to worry about tomorrow –today; you may be surprised that the tomorrow you worried about never materialized. Your child is only a child for a short while – ENJOY them. Somehow I found living in the moment to be the secret to our success and I encourage you to try it too!