#aicardimom

Lately I've noticed how different my parenting is between my two children, and possibly how it will always be. Day by day I'm learning to embrace the difference, knowing that both roles as a "regular" mom & a "special needs" mom are unique, and challenging, in their own ways :)  In the middle of me trying to figure out just how different these roles are in comparison to one another, I found humor in this blog by Dawn Villarreal, One Place for Special Needs, May 2010 .. she posted......

Regular moms tell their kids to wake up and get dressed in the morning.  And they do it.

Special needs moms put on battle gear to get our kids ready to start their day.

Regular moms ask their kids if they brushed their teeth.

Special needs moms prompt, “Brush your top teeth.  Brush your bottom teeth.  Did you get the sides?  Open your mouth.  My God, give me that toothbrush!  You’ve left half your meal in there!”

Regular moms wave goodbye as their kids run off to catch the school bus.

Special needs moms get awesome door-to-door bus service for their child.

Regular moms know the names of all their friends.

Special needs moms know most of their friends by their username.

Regular moms judge other moms when kids have tantrums in stores.

Special needs moms say to themselves, “Hmm, I wonder which disability he has?”

Regular moms complain about driving their kids to sports and recreation classes.

Special needs mom grin and bear the weekly trips to tutors, doctors and therapists.

Regular moms’ kids have a teacher.Special needs moms’ kids have a team.

Regular moms talk about accomplishments.

Special needs moms talk about skills, as in play skills, conversation skills, life skills, social skills and vocational skills.

Regular moms relax with their kids during the summer.

Special needs moms start their second job as home teachers, therapists and skills coaches.

Regular moms think accommodations refer to hotels.

Special needs moms have memorized the top 20 accommodations for their child.

Regular moms hope their child finds a good career.

Special needs moms are hopeful someone gives our child the chance to work.

Regular moms soak in the tub when they want to unwind.

Special needs moms consider a bathroom break a luxury.

Regular moms enjoy reading the latest best selling book.

Special needs moms should receive an honorary degree for all the disability books they’ve read.

Regular moms go out for dinner and a movie with their husbands every month.

Special needs moms have a date night with their husbands every…wait, what decade is this?

Regular moms complain their kids won’t eat their vegetables.

Special needs moms are so desperate we consider chicken nuggets to be a legitimate meat product and throw in ketchup as a vegetable.

Regular moms’ kids go to play groups.

Special needs moms’ kids go to therapy groups.

Regular moms meet for a ladies night out.

Special needs moms get together at support groups and forums.

Regular moms have medical claim forms that fit in one file folder.

Special needs moms will tell you a small forest was cut down so we could receive our claims.

Regular moms think OT means overtime.

Special needs moms know more acronyms than a NASA engineer.

Regular moms complain their husbands sit on the couch while they do all the work.

Special needs moms…well how about that?  Some things do stay the same!

.......................

"A lion doesn't concern himself over the opinions of the sheeps."

No one gives a shiit about what you do anyway - Everyone is entangled in their own lives.

Take care of yourself in & out.

Our judgements are not accurate. And the people you love, they love you back, but they barely know you either, they just helped raise you up. Think about that.

Avoid pointless arguments, stop judging so much, get out of your head. Surround yourself with ppl who give a shiit about you & accept all of your limitations. 

Guys, seriously, save this for later & read it - it changed my whole Chakra healing process:

What your subconcious is trying to tell you

The way you are self-sabotaging: Being unhappy even when nothing is wrong.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You keep expecting outside things to make you feel good, rather than relying on changing how you think and what you focus on.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Pushing people away.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You want people to love and accept you so much that the stress of it all makes you isolate yourself away from the pain, effectively creating the reality you’re trying to avoid.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Eating poorly when you don’t want to be.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You are doing too much, or not giving yourself enough rest and nourishment. You are being too extreme.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Going back to the same person who broke you.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Evaluate your childhood relationships. If you find something comforting or appealing about someone who hurts you, there’s usually a reason.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Attracting people who are too broken to commit in a real way. What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You are not too broken to find someone who actually wants you.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Not doing the work you know would help move your career forward. What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You’re not as clear as you think you are on what you want to be doing. If it isn’t flowing, there is a reason.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Overworking.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You do not have to prove your value. You do, however, have to stop running from the discomfort of being alone with your feelings.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Caring too much about what other people think.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You are not as happy as you think you are. The happier you are with something, the less you need other people to be.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Spending too much money.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Things will not make you feel more secure.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Dwelling on past relationships, or continually checking up on exes.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: This relationship affected you more than you were letting yourself believe. The ending hurt you more than you acknowledged, and you need to process that.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Choosing friends who always make you feel like you’re in competition with them.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Wanting to feel “better” than people is not a replacement for needing to feel connected to them. The common denominator is you.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Having self-defeating thoughts that hold you back from doing what you want.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Being mean to yourself first will not make it hurt less if other people judge or reject you.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Not promoting your work in a way that would help move you forward.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You’re not putting your all into what you’re doing each day. Create things you are proud to share.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Ascribing intent, or worrying that things are about you when they aren’t.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You think about yourself too often.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Ending relationships you “should” have stayed in.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You’re choosing relationships based on society’s standards, not your own.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Staying in a city you claim to dislike.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Home is where you make it, not where you find it.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Denying the obvious in order to “win” the argument.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Your ego is fragile. Conversations are not about “winning,” they’re about learning.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Wanting to be more attractive (read: thinner) than other people, because you think it makes you “better” than them.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You are insecure about the ways you perceive other people to be superior to you – trying to be more physically appealing is the most basic way to remedy that feeling, because you think it’s the one thing that you can solely control and everyone else can see.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Procrastinating.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: Re-think what you’re doing. If it’s not coming to you naturally, it is not the right thing for you to be doing.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Focusing on fear thoughts and irrational ideas.

What your subconscious mind wants you to know: You’re misusing the power of your mind.

The way you are self-sabotaging: Mindlessly scrolling through social media as a way to pass the time.