Ryan is my youngest child. He is a joy most of the time, a challenge some of time and a blessing to have in my life all of the time. Ryan or Bug as we affectionately call him has severe mental retardation and severe Autism. This has left him unable to speak more than a few words and with a mental age of about 2? This has not stopped him from teaching me a lot of things. Patience and appreciating the small things in life most of all. He is satisfied with so much less than the rest of us. He expresses his joy without worrying about what anyone thinks of his skipping and laughing. He likes being with his family but is not always comfortable around people he does not know well. This does make it hard socially. People don't really know how to interact with him and rarely visit or invite us to visit them. This is understandable because Ryan does a lot of unusual things like flapping his hands or making sounds. These are actions that help him deal with his world. It does make life a bit lonely at times but we do all right with it. Ryan also likes to stay up all night at times. This just comes out of the blue. We have tried medication and it seems to help some but every once in awhile he just does the night owl thing. So our life is not normal to the rest of the planet but is still a good life . Ryan loves art and music. He is often with me in my craft room, stamping or painting or cutting. He is a great companion and I am lucky to have him!
What a beautiful post. One that a mother's heart can understand. Life and children are not without challenges and some are more difficult than others. Although sometimes it's the children without the special needs that are the most challenging. You're one special woman to be blessed with a special child. I often wonder what these special people will be like when their limitations will be lifted. Sometimes I think it will be like Christmas...just the wonder and awe of it all and finding that special gift is even more wonderful than we anticipated.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think you are right about that Heidi.I know I will rejoice when I can hear his voice and understand all that he has kept inside him. I believe there is much to learn her on earth and his challenges do teach me, over and over again. Ryan and Tommy choose to come here too......just like we did.
ReplyDelete