Little Victories

When Curt was born, I remember dreaming of all of the things we were going to do together.  We were going to do all of the stereotypical things that fathers and sons do.  Hunting.  Fishing.  Razorback games. You name it.  I stood there in the birthing suite at White River Medical Center, holding someone that would teach me more about love than anyone I have ever met.   The journey that started that day has given me opportunity to learn more than I ever thought I would want to know about the everyday lives of a family with special needs individuals in it.  I learned that the dreams I had for Curt,  weren’t necessarily what God had planned for him.

 Through the years I have questioned God, “What is your purpose for Curt?  Why does he have these struggles to face?  Will he ever be able to chase his dreams?”  I still struggle with this, but I have learned to view things differently.  All to often, we try to measure success with grandiose achievements.  Curt has taught me that real success is achieved through the small everyday victories .

Let me share one such victory from his Occupational Therapy session today.  Actually, it is more like a series of victories.  First of all, the therapist was holding his legs and rolling him to help build his trunk control.  She quit rolling him but he kept on going.  He rolled from his back to his belly and stopped. The look on his face was saying,”how did that happen?”.  Next, he sat up on his own for several seconds.  We all cheered for his good work, and that triggered his final amazing feat for the therapy session.  He got so excited for being praised for his good work that he almost jump backward into the therapist’s lap. 

Enjoy the little victories because they add up to be huge accomplishments.  Please share some of the little victories in you lives.  I want to hear your thoughts and comments.  Let’s draw from each other’s experiences.  Together we are stronger.