Not Today

We all wonder at times if we are doing enough for our child.  Have we scheduled enough OT or Speech Therapy sessions?  Should we have shoe-horned in some at-home ABA sessions after school?  What about that music therapy I've heard about?  Horse therapy?  Should we look into a service dog?  Biomedical treatments, special diets, feeding therapy, and on and on and on... 

The decisions are endless.  The "expert" opinions are everywhere.  There simply aren't enough hours in the day or dollars in our pockets. 

Our already-hectic family life is strained.  Our kids are miserable and over-scheduled and our bank accounts are depleted.  Is it really a mystery why so many of our marriages go down in flames? Some of us have spent more time with our comrades in the OT waiting rooms than our own spouses. 

Yes, this therapy session we are late for is important.  But so is quality time with our family. 

I refuse to give in to that unhealthy voice in my head that tells me I haven't done enough to help my son.  I will be gone some day.  I'm pretty sure that when my son is old and gray he won't be sitting around wishing that he had spent more time with is ABA therapist. 

When it's all said and done, I am his most important therapist, teacher and counselor.  So, with complete love and respect for our amazing therapists, I say, "Not today.  We have songs to sing out of key... we have monsters to chase out our closets... we have clouds to grab out on the trampoline... and we have duck-duck-goosing to do."

We will see you next week.