Am I the only one?
“Lord woman. We need a jet airplane, a case of wine, and a few days to ourselves. We are living parallel lives.”
I received this text today from a mom I have never met, but who I feel I must have known my entire life. I found her through the marvel and wonder of the internet, and in only a year’s time, I feel I know her life story….not because she has told me, but because she too has a child with global apraxia and sensory processing disorder. He is Ashlynn’s age, and each time I write a blog post, somewhere in Oklahoma, more times than not, a young six year old boy and his mother are going through the same things we are.
The experiences range from the emotional joy of seeing them pedal for the first time wearing their smiles of pure joy while tears of joy run down ours……. to the mundane task of cracking an egg perfectly for the first time.
Whatever it has been…struggling to write their name, being pegged as cognitively deficient, or being the best charmer this side of the Mississippi; our children, and now us, their mothers, are truly kindred souls.
Literally while I was in the midst of emailing Ashlynn’s OT explaining I want the sensory profile in her IEP on Friday to give a full picture of her attention issues and not just ADD, I receive this text from my Oklahoma friend:
“How is Ashlynn’s attention span?”
I knew immediately she meant her son’s sucks and she was looking to see if it was the same for Ashlynnn. I know she didn’t say that, but I knew before she said it that that’s where it was going.
I actually feel blessed for these moments. In these moments when God seems to whisper, “you can do this. You are not alone. I am here for you.”
Sometimes it comes out of nowhere. Again through the marvels of the internet, I know another mommy to a child who has global apraxia, and this mommy is also an SLP! Global apraxia is so rare, but it doesn’t seem that way when I have others to talk to. Others sharing my exact same experience. Somehow she always knows just what to say. Sometimes, it’s just APRAXIA SUCKS, and it means so much more coming from her. She just *gets* me.
I love this quote.
I don’t care that I haven’t actually met either of these women face to face and I don’t care if people think I’m crazy. Truth is, I already know them and they already know me, in a deeper way than some who see me face to face ever will….
And one day there will be a jet airplane and a case of wine. I look forward to it. Until then….