This past weekend, we had a Kiddies Fashion Show - fundraising event for the Special Needs School where Katelyn goes to for early intervention. I had been dreading it - in my mind, all I could think about was how I was going to handle seeing a whole bunch of special needs kids (diverse abilities, syndromes etc) - staring at my future, struggling to come to terms with the way they look, walk, speak and behave. Luckily, in the madness of having a half sick child (day 3 of urinary tract infection) - I didnt get to think about it much that morning as we were in the rush of attempting feeds, medications etc etc.
I can't pinpoint what it was, whether I've come a long way, or what - but it was an absolute joy of a morning!!!! The kids were really adorable, some clearly more extravert than others - but all just a pile of cuteness bundled into bodies that challenge them in various ways. I am so grateful God gave us a good experience - I don't think in that moment, that I would have handled another emotional challenge. It also gave the grandparents a chance to embrace our futures - to see what the next few years have in store for us - and that its not all depressing and hard - but filled with the most incredible expressions of joy, most enthusiastic smiles and energy and I guess most of all...a beautiful little growing girl. I feel its quite a big (actually no - HUGE) personal milestone for me, to be in a special needs environment like that and to not have been thinking all these million and one thoughts every moment - but to look at my daughter (who is obviously by far the most adorable of them all) and not be scared for the future.
Two quick pics of her on the day....
