It Takes a Village….

I’ve recently accepted that I am not the best with transitions. Beginnings, endings, changes and shifts, all things new… I grapple to adjust, to assimilate the new information, and try to regain my balance. It’s my tendency to resist change, to avoid potential difficulty. I imagine all the ways a scenario can play out and often that keeps me away from the “new”… which is tremendously isolating.

Raising a child with special needs can be so lonely. It is such a slippery slope as I begin to feel like an island unto myself, assuming the challenges faced and the struggles endured are solely my own experience. Measuring my worst days against the best days I observe and perceive in others is one of my downfalls. These misconceptions keep me tucked away, quietly bearing my burdens alone.

But then someone reaches into the grayness of isolation to personally include me and my family, just as we are, and suddenly, possibility brightens the scene like a whole house aglow with holiday lights. One candle lighting another, with transparency, honesty and courage. That open door ushers me inside where another face, then another and another come, with smiles and warmth that bathe the soul in connection and understanding.

This holiday season, let none of us  believe we are an island, bobbing in the ocean alone. We are a strong community filled with brave, valiant and incredibly kind members. We each have our faltering moments, forgetting we are among friends who truly know and understand this journey. But for every one in a low season, there is another to rush in with words of comfort or a story to remind us of the connection we all share.

My heartfelt thanks to the beautiful souls who come and find me every time I drift away on my own. Together, we are uplifted and encouraged by one another and that makes us stronger as parents, as families and as a community.

May you have a safe and joyous holiday season, knowing you are never alone. See you at the Playhouse, friends.

-J. Creery