It Is Ok to Not Be Ok
It starts in July. I begin to think about the summer season turning to fall. Before I can even begin to enjoy the summer sun, I am reminded of our world, how it is different and what is to come. Every year as we enter school, I begin to feel a knot within my stomach. As I watch and parents begin talking about back-to-school shopping, I think back to what was, before a disability changed our world and recognize what is. That feeling, of being unsettled, wondering how I will meet the needs of my typically developing children and recognize the needs of my daughter who is disabled leaves me living a life fraught with anxiety and it is a constant reminder that our world, living with a child who is disabled sets me apart. As days pass by, into mid-September when people begin to post photos of their children returning to school, I wonder, "what if?" and "why me?". While I can now celebrate my friends' children (and I really do), I pause when people ask me what grade my