What Are You Thankful For?

The holiday season is coming and that means frantic shoppers, long lines and traffic nightmares. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Every year you see them lining the streets, malls and department stores – holiday shoppers. Through all the holiday sales and chaos, I believe one thing is missing from the holiday season – giving thanks.

Look Beyond Gifts and Parties

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy the holiday season as much as the next person, but I don’t believe it is all about gifts and running around like a maniac. I believe one of the greatest gifts is love and letting our loved ones know how thankful we are to have them in our lives.

This holiday season, there will be some that will be give thanks that they have a house; they have a job; they have money to pay for food; they have loved ones close to them; still others may have less to give thanks. We should give thanks for what we do have in this troubled world.

Everyday, I give thanks for my children and the wonderful things they open my eyes to. Recently, I have to give thanks for alternative therapies ^[1] such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy ^[2]. Without this and other therapies, my daughter would have not progressed as much as she has in recent months. I highly recommend looking into the use of alternative therapies.

Give Thanks for Our Children

For the parents of special needs children, being thankful is a priority for me. Although there are far too many to list, these parents should give thanks for:

• Relearning Patience – To be a parent teaches us patience; parenting with a special needs child teaches us to relearn patience. I admit it, there are days that are not easy but seeing my child’s smile grows my patience by leaps and bounds.
• Appreciating the Small Things – Day in and day out, we run at a hyper-speed pace. My child has taught me to slow down the starship and appreciate the small things that I wouldn’t have seen before.
• Prayers – There are no unanswered prayers. I give thanks for answers to prayers today and for answers that take a little more time.
• A Different View of Life– As a special needs’ parent, you see things in a whole new way. My child has opened my eyes to her world; I have learned to see things as she does. The blinders are gone. For good.
• Experiencing True Determination – I thought I knew what determination was; now I know true determination. She shows me true determination when I watch her try to do things we take for granted such as standing, speaking or eating.

This holiday season, I ask you to take a moment and look beyond the gifts, parties and celebrations. Look deeper and see what you are thankful for. Help out those that need some extra help. Say a prayer for everyone. I thank you and I am sure someone else will thank you. ^[3]

During this holiday season, what are you thankful for?