They say you are a special child,
I know that's very true.
Many things are hard for you--
Hard to think of, some harder to do.
I know that you also understand,
How much I love and care.
But sometimes I have to stand aside,
And watch you struggle through--
(The closeness of our spirits
Makes that so hard to do.)
Still, I know that it's important
That you learn to stand alone.
The times we bore together-
They had their own reward:
We came to love-appreciate--
Each other all the more.
So special child, I'm grateful:
Having a special child,
Made us a special family.

Joan adds, "During the years 1965 to 1970, I worked as a nurse on a Pediatric Unit. We had a large number of children with Spina Bifida and Cerebral Palsy, who were frequent patients. One day I asked one of the children's mother, to tell me what was the hardest thing about being the parent of a handicapped child. She replied the hardest part was, "Standing back and watching them struggle to do something on their own."

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