Lessons Learned, Part 1

Before I get into the details of this post, I want to apologize for the lack of updates. You’d think with being home 24/7 I would have a lot of extra time on my hands. Turns out, it doesn’t work that way with a kid. 

I’ve had a few people comment recently about enjoying Wyatt’s story, the impact his story has had on them, and the joy he brings to them. To those people, I thank you. To each of you reading, I thank you. What originally started as a way for us to communicate with family and friends about Wyatt’s early days in the NICU has turned into something else all together. And for that, I’m grateful. 

I find it incredibly ironic (in a not exactly funny, but also funny because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry kind of way...) that I’m a special educator by trade. That my passion for children with disabilities began back in daycare with an amazing kid with Down syndrome who captured my heart and showed me what is possible with inclusion. So armed with a little bit of background knowledge and a love for teaching, I went into special education. 

And you know what? That degree doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to being a parent of a child with a disability. Turns out, I didn’t know squat about not only parenthood but also parenting a child with a disability. 

Because I have always used this space to share Wyatt’s story as well as a place to put down my thoughts and feelings, good and bad, I thought it might be a good time to share some things Wyatt has taught me. My hope is that this will be a multi-post series that will include pictures, some history, some of the present, and a well rounded look into our lives. It may even include a few laughs along the way. 

Thanks again for following his story. I hope you’ll stick around for some lessons learned. 

I’ll leave you with this photo of our guy, standing in his gait trainer, pants half down because he had tried to remove them, standing askew because he was actively telling me that it was time to move the gait trainer since he ran into another piece of furniture. We’re just thankful he had on two socks for once.