I Am

I am a nurse.

My shift never ends as I sit bedside, wheelchair side, and every side in between. I give medication and comfort, I feed and I clean.

I listen to your fears and distract your worried mind, pausing every now and then to wipe away the tears.

I am a therapist.

I sit through all the sessions and learn all the tricks and ways, taking home what I’ve learned to lace into our days.

Physical and speech, occupational and vision, feeding, behavior, and play…. hand in hand, we do it all each and every day.

I am a secretary.

The phone calls are endless and the paperwork nags and pulls. The calendar is always bursting and my voicemail’s almost full.

My email won’t stop dinging with messages galore and those who wreck my organization get booted out the door.

I am an advocate.

Wherever we go, the educating never ends. I call attention to what people say and the message that it sends.

I do my best to spread the word—to model better ways in love. For some people don’t yet how to place others above.

I ask doctors and professionals to see you for who you are.

I push society away from comfort and toward inclusion reaching far.

I am an athlete.

I lift and hoist you day in and out. Into the bathtub, out of the chair, into the van, and all about.

It is my joy to hold you near as I help your body function, my dear.

Caring for you keeps me feeling strong and reminds me that I am right where I belong.

I am a teacher.

I teach you academics, life skills and more. You take what I teach you and with it, you soar.

Although I am a teacher, the truth is, you are too. You teach me so much more than I ever could teach you.

I am a cab driver.

From doctors to therapy to hospitals and back, our life is often lived on a very fast track.

I load up the van, all your equipment and you, and together we embark on journeys driven by love so true.

I am a maid cleaning up the mess that never ends. I am a playmate, building, laughing, and loving shenanigans.

I am a researcher searching for the answer to your every need. I am a visionary committed to seeing all you were meant to be.

I am a comforter holding you through life’s greatest, deepest pain. I am a giver but what I give cannot compare to what I gain.

I am all these things and so much more woven all together.

I am proud to be a special needs mother.