Overwhelmed

And no, not my usual style of being overwhelmed.

Not one that is fixed by a couple of glasses of wine and falling in to a deep sleep on the couch from exhaustion.

Overwhelmed with love.

In a moment of craziness, I shared my blog link on my personal facebook page today.

I had kinda clicked post before I thought about it.

I had been really anxious about who I shared this blog with, only giving the link to a few key friends and a few random people who don't know me well enough to judge me on it!

But what came was not what I had expected.

It was so much more.

Messages of love. Messages suggesting that I am something more than I am. That I'm brave. That we as a family are brave.

Whilst I appreciate the outpouring of love and support, I don't feel like I'm brave. I don't feel like we are amazing. I don't feel like we are doing anything that any other family wouldn't do.  

Yes, we fight. And hard.  But wouldn't you? Wouldn't you be asking questions, researching, trying new things, helping your child to be the best they can be?

OK, I acknowledge, that we have challenges that are different than that of other families.  That's the whole point of the blog, after all.  But just like if the roles were reversed, you would buy your kids noise cancelling head phones.
You would work out when sensory overload was coming.
You would try diet changes and stay on a diet for 2 and a half years because you see benefits from it. 
You pursue speech therapy and OT. You put visuals through your house to encourage speech. You simplify your language so you can make your language clearer.
You enlist the help of a Paediatritian. A Psychologist. The school.
You do parenting courses, because heaven forbid that those critics who don't understand at all are right and it actually is about crappy parenting and nothing about the challenges.
You read. Everything and anything.
You consider. and reconsider. and reconsider again.

And in the end you decide, regardless of how much your kids drive you insane with how long it takes them to put on their shoes, or that at 4 they are still not toilet trained, that you will do anything and everything you can within your power and means to help them.

Kelly xx