Mother Warriors

I just finished reading Jenny McCarthey's second book, Mother Warriors, about her experiences with her son, Evan, who is on the autism spectrum. I am so grateful that Jaylin never had to experience the seizures and life threatening obstacles that Evan and Jenny dealt with. When we do go through our hard times with his behaviors, I take a deep breath and think to myself it could be a lot worse. We have gone through our obstacles and have come out stronger. I watch and listen to Jaylin with tears in my eyes. I am so proud of him. He has come along way in the last few years. His affection and eye contact have always been there but the vocabulary is getting better and better every day. Its getting easier and easier to get things out of him. I enjoy watching him grow and become more independent. I am so blessed to have such a fantastic son. He's the best thing that happened to me and I don't regret anything that we have done to get to where we are today. I may not make a lot of money but I am always there for him and he has everything that he needs. That's more important to us.

A mother warrior is a mother who hears there is no hope for her child and instead of retreating and mourning, breaks down walls, weaves her way through obstacles, follows her intuition even when people tell her she's crazy. She is a mother who believes in hope, miracles, and is able to carry on with strength and determination, even when people doubt her and offer no support. A mother who never gives up when shes keeps hitting dead ends.

I'm proud to say I am a mother warrior. I have never given up hope on Jaylin. There have been tears at times but its okay to cry it doesnt make you weak. Crying helps you let go of the frustration you are feeling at the time. Every thing I do is in the best interest of JAYLIN. That may not make other people happy but I'm Jaylin's voice when he's not able to voice his rights.

There was one part in the book that talks about how when your child is having a rough day so are you and if they are having a good day then you are too. I realize that its so true. If Jaylin is off I am tense. I worry and hope that he doesn't regress back to his old ways. I am learning that there are going to be rough days and we just work through them. We wake up the next day and think "today is a new day we are going to start fresh" something we learned and live by now. The good days are ten times more rewarding when you are able to get through the rough ones. The rough days are not as frequent anymore. We are able to work through a lot more of his frustrations theses days which I am so grateful for. I am keeping my head held high and thinking good things are coming for us.