When my son was diagnosed his dad and I seemed to have
different fears for him. Dad wondered if he would ever play sports and I wondered
if he would be picked on. I think it’s safe to say both will happen but there
things in life you want your children to experience. All of your children because
they are the little and big things that make life the adventure it should be. I
can say some things in life have opened my mind to what life is really about
over the years so today I am making a list of the things I hope my children get
to experience at some point simply because it makes being alive feel good and
gives us the feeling we are blessed to live in the first place. Even some
difficult challenges are reminders of what life is really about.
1.
Laughing with a best friend over nothing until
your entire body hurts because that is a great feeling!
2.
Getting an award for an achievement you worked
towards even if it’s not a world changing event, because it matters.
3.
Having one teacher who makes an impact in such a
positive way you never forget it because that is what a great teacher should
do.
4.
Knowing your family will never stop loving you
no matter what because everyone needs a family who does this and that is what
home is.
5.
Discovering a place in the world that gives you
total peace, no matter where it might be, because a place like that clears you
mind when you need it.
6.
Fall in love because it’s fun!
7.
Getting your heart broken because that means you
loved in the first place and learning how to let go is important.
8.
Going to Disneyland because everyone should go
to Disneyland once in life.
9.
Finding a great friendship in someone you have
nearly nothing in common with because someone like that helps you grow.
10.
Fight for something because not fighting is not
even an option. It’s to important.
11.
Being told you can’t and proving that you can because
sometimes people are wrong when they say that to you. No matter how many people
say it.
12.
Being
lied to because in order to avoid doing that to others you have to know how it
feels and not want to do it, although you might anyway.
13.
Forgiving but also understand it’s ok to put
limits on people who seem to require it more than necessary. See number 7.
14.
If you must hit rock bottom, don’t hit to hard
because you have to be able to get back up and apply to life what you weren’t
before you hit it.
15.
Find something you love to do and use it! If you
don’t you will wish you had one day.
16.
Make mistakes because they are impossible to
avoid.
17.
Challenge people who are wrong because you might
be the only one who will, at first.
18.
Find cool things about people because almost
everyone has something cool to offer.
19.
Say no to drugs because no one should muck up a
beautiful mind with something ugly. The people who want to muck your mind are
the ones almost in 18 I was talking about.
20.
Last but not least view life as totally
unpredictable. Some things you can control and plan but other things just come
at you and some of those things remind you what being alive is all about.
I like to think
all three of my kids will experience most of these things regardless of any
differences or labels and I could add so much more but I don't want to add boring people to death to my list. My two older kids are already experiencing some of this
and they are off to Disneyland next weekend with grandma. Phillip and I will
stay home as it’s not quite his turn yet but one day it will be. I have no
doubt one day all three of them will have a turn at the majority of the list
above. Accomplishments are important and a big part of autism is measuring
accomplishments, then again it really depends on just exactly how you view
accomplishments in a lifetime doesn’t it.
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