Audrey!

I was blessed to have a play date with one of my childhood friends Audrey (Lose) today. We haven’t seen each other for years, so I was so excited when she called me out of the blue and invited me to her beautiful home. I knew before I went there that her children were both special needs children, but I didn’t know how demanding of a responsibility it was on her.

The night before we went. I talked to my children about special needs kids and asked them to be kind and quiet because I just didn’t know what to expect. My children have never been so good. They played well with Audrey’s daughter and were very respectful to her and her needs. I was so proud of them. And to have Audrey tell me that my kids were well behaved made my day.

As we got to talking, Audrey broke down and told me that her children have never said mom or mommy. Her kids are 6 and 3 and they both are autistic. I was sadden to hear her struggles as a mother. The word mom is something we expect our children to say early in their lives, because we are the ones constantly with them. And to hear her cry because her children cannot or have not said that word to her made me realize how much I take my “normal” children for granted.

I was very humbled and grateful for the time I spent with Audrey and her children today. She is such an inspiration to me. I asked her how she was doing and if she needed me to help out with anything. And she said, “you know autistic children are just like other children, they have their good days and their bad. I struggle just like you at times, it’s no different. There are just some other obstacles that I have to take that are different from yours. But really mothering is all the same.” I wanted to cry. Here I was wanting to help her, and instead she helped me.

I told her that the Lord sent her these beautiful innocent children because of her patience and love for them. She is such a beautiful woman. I’m honored to be her friend.