Inspiration

I must confess, I seriously did consider spouting off about this un-spring-like weather, AGAIN today. I know, I know, enough already you're thinking. But I am a weather network junkie after all.

However, you'll be quite happy to read here that I veered off an entirely differnt path after watching Oprah today.

Hubby had grabbed his camera, bundled up against that strong north wind out there and waved as he told me he was going "on Safari", searching for the elusive black squirrel, cousin to our familiar "grey". (I should mention here that we are still in Montreal)

I was leaning (literally) towards taking a nap, my eyelids were slowly tilting to the closed position, when for some reason I reached for the remote and turned on the tube.

Being somewhat of an artistic person, I do try to be "in tune" with my immediate srroundings, always open to any vibes of inspiration that may trigger the beginnings of a new song or another short story.

And you're probably thinking the TV may be the last medium to draw that creative energy from.

But the subject matter of Oprah's show today did indeed, not only enlighten me about a developmental disorder that's on the rise, it stirred a deep feeling of wanting to understand and have compassion for the parents who deal with Autism 24 hours of every day.

Oprah's guests were real-life Moms and Dads who shared with millions of viewers what family life is like when you live with and raise an autistic child.

My heart ached for them as they told how their child did NOT speak, did NOT fit in and did NOT seem to be in his or her body anymore. And I say that because, in some cases the child was normal at birth and maybe didn't present symptoms until after the age of two or later.

We watched a home video of a darling little 2-year-old boy, cuddling with his baby brother, laughing and talking, remarkably articulate for his age. At least 2 other parents shared how their child presented signs of development delay before the age of 12 months.

And I asked myself, "How do these parents do this day after day? How do they deal with the emotional pain of watching their child seemingly drift father and farther away from them?"

This is where the inspiration comes in. One of those fathers, with a strength that came from his deep faith, said that if his boy could even say one word in this lifetime he would be happy. That word was "Daddy".

There's the answer to my question, "How do they do it?" They do it because they love unconditionly the life that they brought into this world and no matter what, they will love forever. I was overwhelmed at the power of that love as I watched bits of their daily experiences of heartbreak and triumph.

As I close this post today, I know I'll hold on a little bit tighter to the ones I love. I'll make sure I let them know how much they mean to me. In fact, I think I'll call one of my sons right now.
Blessings to you and "yours".
Barb