Seize the day, they often say, as a motto for life. As if it's something just outside of the norm. Something that we must aspire to. That seizing the day is something not entirely in our human nature.
As a mom of a child with special needs - a rare chromosome disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome - I can tell ya: From my point of view, there's nothing to do but seize the day.
My daughter Elsa, age 5, is on her own path. At this point, we don't know exactly what all she will do, or what she will accomplish. Right now, to summarize her abilities, we often define her by what she isn't doing (walking, talking, eating), instead of what she is doing (loving, shining, inspiring).
Every day, I do everything in my power to move her forward. Sometimes, my powers are pretty weak. My other small kiddos require a lot of TLC too. Even on my very strongest days, our family accomplishments probably don't add up to much, to the outside eye.
But as we plug along - driving across the county for therapy, lugging her wheelchair in and out of the car, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, ordering medical supplies - in every task there is beauty. And I mean this sincerely. There is beauty because there is Elsa. And she was created by God. She is just as he designed her to be, and we are going to give her every opportunity to succeed and maximize her potential.
Magic is here and there and everywhere, in our family life. When I was younger, magic was that thing that lives and breathes in the streets of New York. The melody of a perfect melancholy song. A first kiss. A life-giving embrace.
Today, my magic is in my daughters, and in the beauty and miracle of parenthood. And this blog will recount our small-but-big moments, to build bridges of understanding and recognize God's work in us all. Thanks for reading!