Birthday Twins

We have lived in our house for over twenty years.  Soon, we’ll be leaving to accompany Mikey on the next phase of his life journey, a move to an intentional community for adults with special needs.

I’ve been adding things to the boys’ keepsake boxes as I find things I think they would want to keep.  Of course, I get sucked down the rabbit hole and I look through all the sweet memories that are already in the boxes.  Here’s one of the gems I found in Mikey’s box.

A Mixed Memory

One year, we had a BBQ with some of my husband’s colleagues and their families.  One very sweet family was eager to tell me that their son was born on the exact same day as Michael. They were the nicest! They wanted to connect with Mikey and me, but they kept asking me questions about that day, like what time Mikey was born and what did he weigh.

For some reason, this sent me into the rumination death spiral. What could have been had crept into my thoughts, and once that happens, it’s hard for me to snap out of it.  This boy had been born on the exact same day as Mikey and his life was completely different.  He played on a travel baseball team. He loved fishing with his dad. He was independently playing and interacting with the other kids and adults at the BBQ.

These moments can be challenging for us as parents to special kiddos who are profoundly impacted by their diagnosis. Managing our own emotions to help support our beautiful kids may be one of our most challenging jobs.

But

I hope that when Mikey looks at this paper, he is struck by how much he has grown and learned since his tiny footprints first made their mark on this world. I hope he knows how much he is loved and valued.  I hope he knows how much his smile and laugh light up our lives and how our family would not be complete without him.  We love our buddy and we’ll keep working to make sure his life is as full and wonderful as possible.