I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For…..

As we welcome Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, I will post my thoughts on Wednesday instead of Friday.  May your Thanksgiving be full of thankfulness, love, and plenty of your favorite foods. 

When Ryan was born, I had high expectations of who he was going to be. He was going to be a great athlete. He was going to be brilliant. He was going to love music. He was going to excel in academics. And he was going to be a loving and giving human being. You know… the dreams that all parents have for their kids. Afterall, they’re your kids! How could they not be …..everything? It’s quite an awakening isn’t it? When your kid is just your kid, and they’re going to become who they are meant to become, of course with our help and guidance.

Reality hit pretty quickly with Ryan. Within a year and a half, I knew something was up. Life was not going to be the wonderful easy road that I was expecting. And I went through all of the stages of grief. And I continued to go through them throughout Ryan’s childhood. Even now, there are stages that I revisit as if they were old friends. I needed to figure out how to manage all of these feelings of disappointment and sadness.

Children are gifts. Sometimes they’re the gifts we aren’t expecting and sometimes we don’t know what to do with them when we get them. Often, it’s hard to be thankful for those gifts. And we get a bit bitter that the giver didn’t “listen” to what we wanted or expected. But unlike holiday or birthday presents, we can’t give our children back. We have a choice. We can live in denial, we can leave it up to others to “manage” them, or we can embrace who they are and be truly thankful to the maker and for the beings they are.

Embracing a child with learning differences and being thankful for who they are is a difficult road. I continue to ask, why us? At times I still become bitter and angry about the road that we, together with Ryan, have had to travel. It’s not fair. It’s not fun. It’s hard. But, the one thing that I have to do every day is be thankful. That Ryan is a gift, that there are so many positive attributes that Ryan has. I am thankful that his road isn’t more difficult. As a woman of faith, I thank God every day for the gift I’ve been given, and that I will do whatever it takes to guide and protect him.

I may not know why I’ve been given this special gift. But I will take care of that gift and maybe touch others who are going through the same experience as me.

During this week of Thanksgiving, be thankful for the special gifts in your life. You may be suffering physically or mentally, but if you are breathing, if you have food, if you have clothes, if you have family, then you have something to be thankful for.

Oh, by the way, I did get one of my expectations for Ryan. He is an incredibly loving and giving young man. (and he loves music!) Which is more important than any other attribute. I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for

I haven’t got a great big yacht

To sail from shore to shore

Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for

No private car, no caviar

No carpet on my floor

Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for

I’ve got eyes to see with

Ears to hear with

Arms to hug with

Lips to kiss with

Someone to adore

How could anybody ask for more?

My needs are small, I buy them all

At the five and ten cent store

Oh, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for

Written by Irving Berlin

Sung by Bing Crosby in “Holiday Inn” 1942