Journey

Sean and I have three sons; Sam, Rory and Colt.  We love them equally but Rory has consumed more of our time and energy over the last 11 years than his brothers.  He has needed a high level of support to do only a fraction of what a typically developing child can.  I do not understand or appreciate what this must be like for Sam and Colt but I do I know it is not fair.  Siblings of children with special needs have a different experience of family and home, and they deal with intolerance often.  As a result they are often more empathetic, responsible and resilient.  However, they also shoulder tremendous burdens that are not easily discussed.  They feel like they need to be perfect and like they can’t express their feelings.  They feel isolated and like their problems are minimised.  They feel like they have to grow up quickly and are asked to help too much.  Even though we are aware of this in the background it is difficult to address within our reality.  In some ways I feel like we have let Sam and Colt down yet they are growing up to be awesome people.  This week Sam turned 22.  Happy Birthday Sam …. we love you to the moon and back.  Sam is making good progress towards becoming a plumber.  This week he was rewarded with a pay rise after a performance review with his boss.  Last weekend we called over to their house to help with the weeding.  Sam had done all the housework while Caitlyn was studying.  He was so fussy he even made us take our shoes off before coming inside!  Colt is also reaching for the stars.  This week he won the Senior student spelling bee at Inglewood Primary.  He reached the 125’s club (something neither of his brothers achieved) and came 7^th in the final of the Senior boys sprints against tough athletic competition.  He now walks to school and home on his own, since I started my full time job (crossing the main road through Inglewood is a dangerous challenge).  We are very proud of Sam and Colt. 

“A mothers greatest masterpiece is her children”   ….. all of them.