In this dream I was back in my twenties, unmarried and no kids, but there was Grace. Everywhere I went I was trying to bring her along...make her comfortable in whatever situation we were in. How was she there? Will she always be there? What does this mean?
Recently I was having dinner with a friend and our conversation turned to marriage and the impact of kids on a marriage, the impact of an empty nest on a marriage. My friend suggested that I may never truly have an empty nest...Grace may always be living with us.
Now while I'll admit that has crossed my mind, I have always imagined that Grace will go to college, live on her own, get married and have her own kids one day. We (Grace and I) even talk about that for her future. I know none of this will be easy and I think of all that would have to happen for her to "go away" to college but I think of it as a possibility...a probability.
I may be in denial, because I can go there, but I am hopeful. I have dreams.
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. II Timothy 1:7
3 comments:
I believe Emma will go to college and learn to live on her own with help. And Emma is way more complicated than Grace! She uses an eyegaze talker to communicate and cochlear implants to hear and is spastic quad CP. Never give up the dreams! For if you can dream it, it can be done.
I never questioned Grace going to college. I have no doubt that out of the 3, she will finish first & in the top of her class. I am not (as you know) an optimist or even a realist. Most of the time I'm a pessimist. But I base my conclusions on the facts that she's smart, determined and let's face it, has a damn good support group behind her! She WILL go many places and do amazing things along the way!
Geace WILL NOT live with you forever. Even people who are most severely impacted by their CP, will eventually leave home in some way. Especially because she is verbal, and quite mobile via wheelchair or walker there are lots of options for her when it comes to independent living...
I have SQCP. I have used a power chair since I was five (I sometimes use a Kaye walker for exercise, but am not so mobile). And despite that, I have lived on my own since shortly after I turned 18. Five years ago, I left home to attend university 60 miles away.
Now I have an Honors Degree in Psychology and am applying to law school in the fall.
I am living proof that disability alone does not determine your future. It is your moral obligation as a parent to never give up. :)
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