Dear son, I am blessed to be your mom because you have taught me what life is truly about. I like to think I was a pretty decent person before you were born, but I know beyond any doubt that I am a better person since. You teach me how to live, how to love, and how to be content.  I learn so much from you. You work so hard to accomplish what so many of us take for granted. It is a struggle for you to even communicate, but it doesn’t stop you. You persist and work hard for each and every milestone you reach, and each and everyone brings me so much joy because I know what it took for you to get there.
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Blessed With Joy

You start each a day with a smile. It doesn’t matter how hard the day before was, each day is fresh and new to you. You light up a room and your smile is infectious. You have so many reasons to be bitter and unhappy, but it’s not your way. There is happiness deep within you that cannot be contained. Even when words are hard, it amazes me how easily you sing. That is because joy spills out of you. I pray it will always be so.
 
You teach me that words are not needed to show you care.  Sometimes, all that is needed is just a touch, sitting close to someone when they have a bad day, or just simply holding a hand. It is how you express your love. I have learned there is so much beauty in that.

You Taught Me To Enjoy The Simple Things

You’ve taught me that life is about enjoying the journey and appreciating the small details. You don’t have any desire for the worldly things that so many strive for. You don’t need or want fancy toys. You’re happy to be at home, to be with those you love, to listen to music, to play outside. Those are the things that make you happy. You are the kind of kid who gets so much pleasure from opening one small gift that you leave all the others behind to just stop and enjoy the one you just opened. It’s not that you don’t appreciate the others, but you just are so content with what you have. I love that about you. Christmas and Birthdays have a whole new meaning in this family. The holidays we have spent with you are so much more meaningful than the ones before you were born.

You’ve Taught Me To Love

You’ve taught me to look beyond differences, to see the person as a whole. You don’t discriminate or even seem capable of judging someone by how they look, or dress, how intelligent they are, or what they have to offer you. You look beyond. To you, a person just needs to be kind. Nothing else seems to matter to you. Hate is not something you understand. The world has so much to learn from that.
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Most of all you have taught me how to love. A love that is so pure and real and rewarding that it goes beyond anything I have ever known. A love that is unconditional.

It Is A Joy To Be Your Mother

I’m not going to lie to you son, there are challenges to being a parent of a special needs child. Society makes it even harder. It is hard hearing people say hurtful things about you. It is overwhelming to constantly fight for what you need. As your mom, it is scary to not always know what are the best choices for you or what the future holds. It can be exhausting at times. But let me make this clear to you right now and forever more, it has ALWAYS been easy to love you. It has ALWAYS been easy to be proud of you. And it has ALWAYS been my joy to be your mother! I thank God for you every single day. There is no son in the world I could ever want to be a mother to more than you. I am truly blessed to be your mom.
[info_box type=”gray_box”]guest author Elizabeth DeWittThis post was written by guest author Elizabeth DeWitt. She shares her journey at Speaking 4 Sam Here’s what she has to say about her story: I am a very tired mom, raising two amazing children and married to a pastor. Autism has impacted our family, but we are not letting it defeat us. My son takes on each new day with a smile. Autism does not define who he is. This is our journey. The good, the bad, and sometimes downright ugly side of autism, but once in a while, the beauty shines through.[/info_box]