With Father’s Day being tomorrow, I wanted to pay a special ode to special needs fathers. My husband, Chris embodies what it means to be a great father to our children and it is only amplified when I see him with our son Nathan. (I may get myself in trouble for writing this for the world to see because now the next time I’m mad at him, he is going to remind me of this post :))
Although there are a lot of things that make all dads special, I want to list my top three reasons on what makes special needs dads that extra SPECIAL!
The Unexpected
No one expects to be a special needs parent but some get to be the chosen few. If you have never read the poem, “Welcome To Holland”, by Emily Pearl Kingsley, I highly recommend it. Every day I get to witness the love Nathan has for his dad. Although he doesn’t get to show it in the typical verbal way, there is no doubt to me the love he has for his daddy.
No one gives them a chance to Cry
As a woman, when something goes wrong with any of my children but especially our son Nathan, you will probably find me crying wither to my mom or one of my best friends. No one thinks it’s strange to see a mom cry in the waiting room of a hospital or even at lunch with her girlfriends. Men don’t have this luxury because stereo-typically we expect them to be strong for us. Chris, like most dads tries to remain strong for me so that I can cry but I know he is hurting just as much and cries on the inside.
They go to work
Because I have the luxury of working from home, I am the one that goes to all the doctor and therapy appointments. I would be lying if there was times that I wish I was the one going to work and he was the one who was having to deal with all the everyday appointments, but I’m glad I am able too. My husband only gets to hear second hand from me what happened at each appointment, so there are times he feels out of the loop. When our son is in the hospital, he gets up and heads to work every day after sleeping on the hospital sofa. He is expected to go on with his normal life while I have the luxury to putting things on pause.
I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy Father’s Day those lucky dads who get to experience this special needs journey. Your kids truly think you are their super heroes and you deserve a big pat on the back!
Welcome to Holland c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved (http://www.our-kids.org/archives/Holland.html)
