Once a long... long time ago in a land full of NTs (neuro typicals)
Our families used to meet up with
Grandmas, and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and people who had nowhere to
go. They used to pile in until the number sometimes passed 30! One year we
noticed our little girl had a very hard time navigating her way through this
day and would sometimes have really bad tantrums. MOST of the others didn't
understand and by the time we would get her settled down at our home I would
fall apart in my husband’s arms. I was so undone. We kept going year after
year......and I don't know why. We did
behavior modification on Meg and I even wrote her social stories to try and
help her navigate. We did try and educate the others on our daughter’s
behaviors. We even wrote and handed out letters one year. I think
that was the last year that we spent Thanksgiving there.
It was hard to change
what we did every year, but it was good. It has been good in so MANY different
ways!
One time I heard these words in a sermon and they have stuck
in me like a seed….”growing things change”
YES GROWING things
change and sometimes Change is hard.
At first we tried to
move the entire get together to our home, but for many different reasons the
others still continued to stay at the other house. The first year was the
hardest, but It was also so FULL of Gods peace....WE KNEW we made the right
decision. It is good to have family traditions but sometimes it’s okay to make
new ones. Sometimes we are stuck in old ways that are not good for any one.
Perhaps a change can bring healing and growth. I want traditions full of peace and honoring
one another. I want everyone to be treated with the love that God has put in
us. Let’s build a tradition where everyone is held up and brought close. Let’s
build a tradition of laughter and sharing EVEN if the house is a mess! Let’s
celebrate life and live in this culture all year long!
Let’s dance and sing and build a tradition where we pray and
invite our Daddy God to come fellowship with us. Let’s praise and worship Him!
We first did this change because we believed it was best for
Megan (our daughter) and in doing so we found it has been best for us too.
