The key to my sanity or even recharging my special needs parenting battery is catching the calm. The moment in time where you've done all you can do. You've fought for equipment as far as you can go, have submitted all that has been demanded of you from social security, researched the latest therapies, technology and equipment, and have sent 100 emails to county services attempting to convince them to pay for your child's therapist and you can do more other than just wait for the results from all your efforts. It is when you force yourself to take a moment to just breathe and literally watch a garden grow. Watching the grass grow or smelling the roses works too, whatever floats your boat.
For me, I've been spending a few days watching Noah's Miracle Garden growing big with all of his Firefly Garden Seeds. A very special garden this year, as I carried seeds of hope and growth all the way from Ireland for Noah. And everything is thriving. Beyond thriving. Not one seed decided not to try. I wish I could take the credit for being this master gardener, or this super human parent who can do everything in a day including cultivate an amazing garden, but the truth is The Miracle Garden just does what it does... grows happily.
Much like Noah, this incredibly happy human being. I'd love to take full credit for that too, but I can't. Noah is just this very special soul and he's just happy because he exists. And I'm so ever thankful for his joy. I soak it up so the sadness, frustration and disappointment that I can't do more for Noah with all these roadblocks and lack of help doesn't consume me.
I've had some great conversations with the onions, radishes and garlic that are growing. Yes don't judge, doesn't everyone talk to vegetables? I wish I could tell you that The Miracle Garden is so awesome that it talked back. But it doesn't. But I can tell all these sprouts how grateful I am. I can release my troubles, tell them my greatest hopes, and it offers me the promises of growing endless possibilities. And added bonus, according to a British study conducted in 2007 there is also evidence that microbes in the soil may lift your mood. We all can use a little mood lifters... so go dig, go talk to those plants!
Love,
Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.