I have recently discovered the series Parenthood. I am definitely hooked! For those of you who have never watched it, I will give you a short synopsis: it is about a single mom who decides to move back with her parents to get her kids, who are teens, out of a bad situation and get a fresh start. The plot unfolds as you are introduced to her three other siblings and their families. One of her brothers has a son with Asperger's....that is where I got hooked! The series does an extremely good job of showing what it is like to find out about the diagnosis and the roller coaster of emotions parents go through. The other thing the writers and producers do a great job with is the way the extended family and friends deal with this unique situation. I finished watching Season 1 on Netflix. I am excited to watch more. The characters and episodes are heartwarming and very relatable.
Watching this show has unleashed many emotions and memories. It has given me time to reflect on past events dealing with my own children. Each of them are so unique. It is no wonder I feel so inadequate. It was like starting all over again with each one. What worked for one did not necessarily work for any of the others. If only they came with instruction manuals! Right? That would make things so much easier. The one thing I could rely on was my support network of friends. I relied a lot on them back then. It was mainly knowing that I wasn't alone. There were also times when we just needed to feel "normal". The only way to achieve this was to surround ourselves with people who were going through the same thing.
I am not going to lie. There were times when I cried so much that my eyes would swell up. There were times when I felt despair. There were times when all I could do was curl up in bed and sleep the day away. One thing you learn as a parent of special needs is to take it one day at a time. I learned to celebrate the little things. I still do.
It is sad to know that Parenthood is over. I always hate to see the ending of something good. However, the reality is that it lives on in the lives of every parent who is still struggling and fighting for their child. I want to thank the writers of this series for showing a glimpse of what it is like for us. I think they did such a good job portraying what it is like to have autism. The character Max was real. He wasn't exaggerated to make a point. His tantrums, OCD, and other quirks were showed in a very real way...sometimes it hit home a little too well.
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Being a parent is the hardest job you will ever have,
but the one with the greatest rewards.
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