[Derameth]

Greetings Morning Glory!!!! I have seen this many times before and each time it brings tears to my eyes, for many reasons. Yet mostly for the reason that I have a mentally handicapped son.

My only hope in life has been that he never knew he was "different" from others. For in being himself he was happy, no comparison to others. He has been and is a pure spirit. Everything about my son (who is now 26) is wonderfully pure. Even when he gets upset, there is no holding back, no throwing past hurts into your face, as the rest of us "normal" people tend to do. He is angry for the moment, pure and simple. I suppose anger is not the correct word, he is more frustrated I believe.

I often wondered why God had given me this task. I never really thought of it as a burden, but I was angry and hurt that my first child should be "less than normal". Through time, and learning, I now see my son as the antithesis of a burden. His pure and simplistic view of life and love has taught me more than all the years of academia I have. He loves us unconditionally!

Choices? I suppose in some way I had a choice in keeping my son with us, but actually that never really was a debatable issue. I had no choice in giving birth to him, as he is. God, in his wonder, made the correct choice for me.