What Does it Mean to be Grateful?
What does it mean to be grateful?
I think gratitude can look different for each individual person.
We all want a happy life.
Some people may be grateful for a good job and financial stability. Others may be grateful to be a stay at home parent, raising and watching their children thrive and grow.
Gratitude is a powerful human emotion.
In its simplest form, gratitude refers to a “state of thankfulness” or a “state of being grateful.”
Thanking others, thanking ourselves, gratitude in any form can enlighten the mind and make us feel happier.
I have been thinking a lot lately about my own gratitude.
In the middle of a pandemic, do I have too much or not enough?
It’s a complicated answer I guess.
I am grateful for the roof over our heads. The food on our table. The health and well-being of my family and friends.
But I am most grateful for my son.
He is nine years old and on the severe end of the autism spectrum.
He has made leaps and gains since we discovered he was autistic at the age of three and a half.
He uses an AAC device to communicate, and a lot of echolalia.
From March to the end of Augus,t I watched him slip into a major regression.
His whole world stopped.
No in-person learning. No speech, physical or occupational therapy.
He was stuck at home and I watched as he lost everything…his verbal communication, we are talking 3-4 word sentences. Gone.
Just gone.
He became aggressive, hurting himself and me. He became incontinent. We are talking about a boy that has been potty trained since the age of five.
It was like a flip of a switch.
Everyday I watched as he faded more and more into the background.
Forgotten.
Lost.
I was losing my boy, and I was completely helpless.
I am so grateful for my son’s team. For advocating on his behalf. For risking their health and safety to teach and reach him.
I can never tell you what that truly means to our family.
Aydan will return to school on the 30th of this month.
And last but not least, I am grateful to be a part of a special needs support group, Coop’s Troop.
I have found our village. Our tribe. Our people.
My best friends with amazing kids, just like my Aydan, whom I’ve grown to love. A safe space filled with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and therapists. Even folks without children that truly just want to learn.
I wake up grateful to have so many friends that understand our life.
There is a grief that comes with being a special needs parent. And for me, it is NOT because my son isn’t typical. It is not because he does not talk. It is not because of his quirks or his hums or his stimming.
It’s because as parents, we watch our children struggle, and we can’t always fix it. We can’t always make it better. We can’t wave a magic wand and make it all disappear.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families. I hope you’ve shown gratitude in some way, shape or form.
“Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
Written by, Nikki Wallace
My name is Nikki and I am the mom to one amazing son, Aydan, who just turned nine this October. We also have 6 fur babies. I live with my husband in a small town in Ohio. Aydan was diagnosed with autism level 3 at around 4 years of age. He is technically nonverbal, but he can say some words and he is learning more everyday. You can follow our story on Facebook at Adventures with Aydan.
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Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook, subscribe for exclusive videos, and subscribe to our newsletter.
