52 Blessings: Normal

Aack! The whole week's gone by and no blogging since Monday. I've been caught up in everyday life, which I am now officially back to and can no longer use the excuse of my 'recuperation' to avoid doing stuff. And we started our taxes this week. *Sigh.* One of the two things we all want to avoid (the other being death), and I do my best to avoid doing them until my husband starts nagging continually. We are due a refund, you see, but that still doesn't make me want to do my share of the taxes (Schedule C for my business). On a brighter note, I've been writing up wedding invitation orders, working on cake designs and once again participating fully in my kids' school and after-school lives!

Anyway, I have a myriad of choices for blogging this week, as I've not blogged anything on schedule. A recipe? Some retail love? No, today I'm writing about another of my 52 (and more) Blessings.

I am very thankful this week that my children are "normal." Your typical, average kids living in Suburbia, USA. When I say normal, I mean that they are on track as far as their physical and mental growth and development. (Otherwise, they've got their little quirks and oddities about them in spades!) Neither has ever been diagnosed with anything that requires complicated medications, therapies, special assistance or additional help at home or school. They've walked on time. Learned to tie shoes on time. Talked (way too much sometimes) with the appropriate number of vocabulary words at the right times. Expressed emotions at every age.

I thought of all this in the past week after talking to my Mom about a distant cousin of mine whom everyone in the family has known to be "slow" for practically his entire life, but whose parents did not seek additional help or resources to help him become more independent or cope with every day life. His condition seems fairly mild and he could probably, with the right kind of help, do much more for and by himself. He is a young adult now, but still lives at home and requires his parents to help navigate life each day. I wonder what will happen to him when his parents are no longer able to do so. It scares me to think about it.

A dear friend's son was identified as autistic last year. He is a great kid, but of course requires a different kind of education and more resources now than they had ever planned on. I could feel my friend's stress through the phone lines last year, as she related the decisions they had to make about who would care for their child while they both worked, or if they could even find a place willing to care for a child with special needs. This school year, he started elementary school, introducing another kink into the big picture. I wondered how I could ever cope if I were in her same shoes.

It is a blessing to have kids that are so normal that they're basically like everyone else's in matters of health and development. We take it for granted too often, especially when the situation can change in a heartbeat. Only God knows what He has planned for my children. I pray for their continued "normalcy" and count it as one of my many blessings.