I knew having a special kid would change my life and my perception of what “parenting” was all about. I know we all have our moments with our children; good and bad. Although, sometimes I feel as if I am a women stranded on a deserted island making smoke signals and screaming for help. Similar to Tom Hanks in Castaway but instead of having Wilson (who mind you doesn’t speak) I have a toddler screaming at me in frustration because he is trying so hard to communicate but simply can’t get the words out.

I know I am not alone in this toddler minefield but the past few weeks, life has been considerably more difficult and I have been on the verge of tears. We thought we could see the light at the end of the proverbal toddler tunnel with having a child, who was very cooperative, happy and an absolute delight on vacation. Then something went horribly wrong and the tunnel started to cave in and our sweet boy had turned back into a little dictator running around the house yelling at me all the time.

Parenting is one big game of dodge ball. We are all running around, acting as if we know what we are doing to avoid the disaster that is about to hit us. In all reality, each and every one of us “parents” are actually running around looking like chickens with our heads cut off with no real clue. For a while, we are able to duck, dodge, dip, and dive and then BAM! You are smacked in the head, with that awful red ball from PE class, back down to reality.

I had this big plan to juggle all of my new endeavors, focus more on my writing and building my resume and BAM reality hit me square in the face. It’s not that I had taken on to much but instead there was a shift in priorities. Killi will start going to school on a trail run basis and I will need to be with him for that. This is so exciting but at the same time I would be lying if I didn’t say it’s also a little deflating.

No matter, my job as a mom for now is to focus on my son and wow has it paid off! Even with no sleep for a couple of weeks and the uncontrollable fussiness of my son, who is having a hard time getting his point across, we are making huge progress!

Over the past couple of weeks, Killi has said more words than ever, his social skills with other children are improving drastically to where he is actually playing with other kids, his physical development with gross motor skills are improving and can be seen through his amazing new ability to swim like a fish (thank you teacher Tom), and all of a sudden he has taken a fancy to music. The kid, who would not allow me to sing him a song without yelling at me, is now singing along to music and dancing and apparently enjoys playing the piano!

Although there are times when I feel as if a dodge ball is being hurled at my head and I can’t take anymore of the whining that might make my head explode; my darling boy will whip out a new word or do something amazing and it makes me realize that he is a job. He is my full time job but a job that is worth all of my efforts and worth fighting through both of our frustration and tears. Hard work really does pay off and Killi is a prime example of that!

My advice for parents: keep dodging and when you get smacked in the face, shake it off and get back to work! 🙂