It’s a cold, rainy Thanksgiving day and I’m stuck inside with a rather rowdy crowd but I’m thankful for them and their craziness!  I have a lot to be thankful for this year!

I’m thankful for Madi and Ali who are making A LOT of noise by screaming, running around and slamming doors right now.  It’s annoying but life hasn’t always been so typical in our house so I’m thankful for all the typical things happening today.  I’m thankful that Ali can slam the doors with enough force to shake the house and that Madi, who used to need to live her life pretty much in silence can run around and get Griffin all riled up without making her sister lose her marbles.  I’m thankful that Ali can now yell, “Griffin Bad” over and over again as the puppy runs around the house doing swimmers turns off walls and couches and stealing Polly Pockets and Barbies.  I’m really thankful that Burton is just laying with his head in my lap looking up at me waiting for me to do something with him because I couldn’t handle two children and two dogs going crazy in the house on a rainy day!

I’m thankful that Ali fell in the toilet this morning (although she may not be) because it reminded me how independent she’s become and gave me a much needed laugh and a break from all the commotion.

I’m thankful that I can’t cook a turkey tonight because Ali won’t eat it because if I cook a ham she will!  A couple of years ago, I couldn’t have cooked a Thanksgiving meal for Ali unless I wanted to puree it and put it through her G-tube and it’s the best feeling in the world to have that all behind us.  I’m also thankful for my slap chop and my magic bullet because we’re still working on the whole chewing thing.

I’m thankful that I have to give Ali a needle tonight.  Partly because saying, “Bend over so I can stick this needle in your butt!” never gets old and always makes her giggle and partly because the alternative was to continue to fight for a medication that we thought she needed but may never get.  I worried about getting this medication for over a year and about her health and safety because she didn’t have what I thought she needed.  I’m thankful that I live in a province where this medication is readily available to us and where we don’t have to sell our house to pay for it (because some people do).  I have a real love hate relationship with this medication.  It scares the hell out of me but at the same time, it gives me peace of mind and I’m thankful for the peace of mind and the fear, they both help us make the right decisions for Ali.

I’m thankful for Costco and their huge bulk packs of cheese strings, Laughing Cow Cheese and yogurt drinks!  Ali takes forever to feed but give her a yogurt drink and a “Cow Cheese” and she’s like a high end vacuum!  Madi likes to point out that she actually chews so doesn’t need Ali’s beloved “Cow Cheese”, so cheese strings by the hundred it is!

I’m so, so thankful for OT, PT, SLP and VT.  As much as I dread spreading pudding all over my own face to show Ali how fun it is or curse them when Ali tells her sister to “Shut Up” or compliments me on my “Boobs and Butt”, they are a huge part of the reason that Ali is who she is today.   Early intervention changes the type of adult that children like Ali become and there is nothing more valuable than having a good team behind your child.

I`m thankful that I can now submit my FSCD claim on line…enough said!

I’m thankful for Jason.  I couldn’t do this without him.  I’m thankful that we can do this together and I have someone to both enjoy the chaos with and get through the tough stuff.  Parents of children with special needs often struggle to hold their own lives together, it’s really, really hard.  Our social lives pretty much end, we deal with mountains of stress and guilt and worry all the time about our children and our choices.  He makes me laugh and lets me know that it’s all going to be okay.  I’m not sure what I’d do without that.

I’m thankful for my family.  As far away as they are, I know that they will always be there if I need them.  It’s Thanksgiving and I wish we could all be together (only partly so that someone else could do the cooking).  I remember having big family holidays growing up and I loved them.  I wish my kids had more of that.  But what counts is that we all know how lucky we are to have them even when they’re far away.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!