A Father's Love

Being the parent of a special needs child has its joys and challenges to be sure. My challenges are pretty minor compared to what many parents deal with on a daily basis, but there are still days when I feel overwhelmed and not cut out for the job. Sometimes I get tunnelvision and can't see anything but the hill I am trying to climb, and today was one of those days. Abby began a "bad cycle" last Friday, and as I was trying to pay bills and get caught up on some housework after being sick last week, I began feeling the dark fingers of despair gripping me as I was having to stop every couple of minutes to redirect, discipline or rescue my little girl. Finally, I sat her down next to me in my big chair and we looked at some blogs and checked email. This is what was in my inbox:



Here is an additional video with more background information on Team Hoyt.

I've seen this before or at least have heard of Team Hoyt, but today this video was just what I needed to help me gain some perspective. By way of quick background, this father's son was born with cerebral palsy. Once his son told him that "running" made him feel like he wasn't disabled, and ever since he and his father have run in marathons, Ironman events, triathalons, etc. It makes my "hill" look pretty small and makes me want to be be a hero to my daughter (and son) the way this father is to his son.