The Wind Beneath My Wings

Today was quite an interesting one for me. It started out with a conversation at my son’s school. I think I approached the educator in an odd way, but the end result was quite positive. I ended up spending about 40 minutes talking with this person about my son’s IEP program. We discussed where he is thriving, struggling and what the plan is to get him ready for kindergarten. I found out that a lot of great things are happening for my son and also brought to light that there are still things that “need a lot of work” but are progressing quite well. I left school feeling like I was 100% on the same page with the “powers that be” at school and we are heading into the New Year with a great plan to keep things moving along in the right direction.

My next destination was a restaurant where I worked for several hours. Part way through my time here, a stranger came up and asked if she could share the table with me. It was now 12pm and the restaurant was quite crowded. There was not one table available and this stranger saw that I was working at a table alone, with space to spare. She had a service dog with her and kindly asked if she could sit down across from me so that she could eat her lunch. Of course, I immediately said yes. She kindly thanked me, sat down and commanded her service dog to lie down under the table. A few moments later the dog had her head on my foot and was looking up
at me. This stranger and I never exchanged names, only general conversation. She asked what I did for a living and then she went on to tell me about her service dog. The dog helps her b/c she is hearing impaired. This dog is supposed to help her hear the phone and other sounds that she may not be able to hear on her own. She went onto tell me that although the dog does not do the best job at what she was trained to do at times she loves her and can’t imagine not having her around.

What hit home the most for me from our entire conversation was that this dog has been in her life for 2 years and is someone she has grown to love, faults and all. Although this dog is not her son or daughter, she is clearly someone that this woman loves, depends on, counts on and knows will give her unconditional love no matter what. I could relate to this completely as I think about my kids and how much I love and depend on them to give me unconditional love no matter what. I know it is wishful thinking that this will continue for the rest of my life, yet as I sat back and thought about the last 5 years of my life, every moment of joy, pain, happiness and sorry has somehow revolved around one or both of my kids.

While driving to pick up my son from school, “The Wind Beneath My Wings” came on the radio. Out of nowhere, tears began to flow from my eyes as I hung on every word being sung by Bette Midler. As the song came through the car speakers I began to think through the years since I was married and then became a mother. Each memory led to another until I was connecting the words to my husband, children and the “village” of people that has rallied around me to help me ensure that my children get the very best life has to offer from a young age.

My oldest has taught me so much about life, love, challenges and how to “never give up” on what you believe to be right. My youngest on the other hand has given me a new meaning to the words “sunshine, love and mischief.” Both boys are teaching me how to be a little less serious all of the time, how to take the time to celebrate the little successes that may happen on any given day and how to appreciate what is right in front of my eyes. They have also helped me figure out when to stick with something, when to walk away for a while and when to just shut the door on a situation that is not fixable.

“You can’t control the things that happen to you but you can control the way you react to them.” I heard this quote today and think that is going to be my new motto. This has been a common theme in my life since our first born turned 9 months old. This is not a story I care to discuss on my blog, it is one for another place and time. What I will say is that a lot of things, both good and bad have taken place over the years and I now truly understand that there is only so much one can control. My “I must be in control of my destiny” mindset that carried me through my 20’s and most of my 30’s, has slowly started to crumble due to the obstacles I have come up against over the last 7 years. I have come to fully understand why each time life throws an obstacle my way, I have to take it with a grain of salt, learn what I can from it and apply it to the next obstacle that comes along.

My kids, my husband, my “little sis” and the “village” of people who rally around me are truly the wind beneath my wings.