Is 'normal' overrated?

This post by parent blogger Heather Hamilton really made me sit up and think: Finding 'normal'.

In it, Heather, who lost her son Zack, 3, earlier this year, writes about how the world of 'normal' she once longed for is not what she expected it to be (now that she finds herself raising two typical boys):

"In fact, the 'normal' life that I had been wishing for, is now here and the grass is not as green as I had expected. In fact, it's not fulfilling in the same way at all. While I don't have the added stress, anxiety and even work of three kids and one with special needs, I also don't have those tremendous joys that life used to offer me. The life that I had sought after for over 3 years, is now the life I am living and it is not at all the life I was meant to live. I miss the life that I was given...the depth that my life had."

It made me think about how we parents can get caught up in wishing our children's lives were different -- 'normal' -- not realizing that perhaps it is the unique path our children with disabilities are on that makes life so rich.

Do check out Heather's piece. I'm so grateful she shared it with us! Louise