Parenting… What a calling!

Some days it feels like an honor. Other days, it feels like bedtime can’t come soon enough! You feed, potty train, teach, bathe, repeat! Your weeks consist of school, practice, therapy, play dates, church, clubs, etc. But at the end of the day, you get to look into those precious eyes and know that you are shaping and molding a human being.

You are the one they get to call “Mom” or “Dad.” You are their hero!

But parenting can be difficult…

It’s common for new or expectant parents to dream about what “life with kids” should look like, to make plans for an uncertain future. It’s only later you realize those plans often don’t go as expected. Life throws wrenches in your plans.

Your kids may have different abilities than you thought they would. They may like different clothes than you thought they would. They may eat different foods than you thought they would. Some kids like singing and dancing, some like sports, and some like reading and writing

Emily Perl Kingsley, a longtime writer for Sesame Street, beautifully shares her perspective on parenting in her piece called Welcome to Holland. Kingsley writes about the feelings that expectant parents may experience as they dream of what their life will one day be like when they have children, equating it to preparing for a dream-trip to Italy.

As you prepare for this big trip, you think about the hotels you would stay in, the sites you would visit, the foods you would eat, and the friends you might visit. Your excitement and anticipation continue to build. Then suddenly, while in mid-air on your way to Italy, the stewardess announces that the flight plans have changed. You end up on your way to a totally different destination… Holland. You don’t know anything about Holland! You didn’t prepare for Holland. Holland has different hotels, different sites to see, different foods to eat.

But somewhere along the way, you learn to adjust your plans, and it’s in that process you realize that Holland has just as much, if not more, to offer than Italy ever did.

The fact of the matter is that life rarely goes exactly as planned. But it’s not “the plan” that makes life meaningful so much as how you learn to adjust along the way, valuing “the process” for the glory it inherently holds, unearthing its beauty with each passing day.

It’s about how you learn to love others well on the journey, regardless of the destination.

At MTS Kids, we want to say a special “Thank You” to parents!

Parenting a child with unique needs can be quite challenging, and we want you to know that you do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you for adjusting your lives to love and serve your children well. Thank you for valuing the process.

Thank you for all of the time and effort you pour into your incredible children!

Thank you for bringing them to therapy every week. Thank you for pledging to do home exercise programs. Thank you for driving, often long distances and multiple times a week. Thank you for talking with other parents in the waiting room. Thank you for advocating. Thank you for learning on behalf of your kids. Thank you for sacrificing your time and your desires so that your child may have A Voice That Lasts Forever!

In an effort to honor you, our amazing parents, MTS Kids is taking the entire month of July to celebrate Parent Appreciation Month! Throughout this month, we will be saying “Thank You” by giving our parents a small token of our appreciation every week in each of our clinics.

We truly appreciate you and all that you do. We are honored to serve your families alongside of you.

Happy Parent Appreciation Month!
Your story is OUR story! Share your story with us on social media or through our website.

#illuminateSTARS   #AVoiceThatLastsForever