16 things

When you have a child with special needs, any kind of special needs, you
1. are fierce (with your knowledge and your heart)
2. become a fighter
3. love more than you ever thought possible (true for having children period! )
4. cry at the smallest things
5. get much less sleep
6. have constant "brain fog"
7. have mountains of paperwork
8. become a hoarder of paper clips
9. know that owning a scanner/ copier is a necessity
10. celebrate milestones no matter how seemingly small, like when she put a sippy cup to her dolly's mouth! Like, for real, you had cake and put on party hats!
11. will sit in your car in your driveway for long amounts of time and decompress, and sometimes cry
12. get snippy if your "stories" are interrupted, you know-- the ones you've dvr'd that you've been waiting all week to see because you HAVE to escape. If you don't get to escape, you might implode.
13. will think about taking vacations by yourself. So you don't have to speak to ANYONE, except maybe the flight attendant and the bartender when you get there.
14. wish you had a babysitter
15. pray you live forever
16. require an entourage of people who love you, would reach the moon for you, and who will help you in this crazy life.