We live in a fast paced world. You can get everything from coffee to your dry cleaning through a drive-thru window. We live in a high tech super speed society. We put the same fast paced demands on our children. We want them to walk early and talk early. We want them to be the smartest and the fastest child in preschool. We want them to learn to read before they enter kindergarten.
When you have a child with special needs all the normal timelines don’t apply to you. You quickly realize that the words fast and first 
don’t fit into your vocabulary.
What you do learn is this: you learn to STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES. When you have to wait years for your child to walk, you appreciate all the little baby steps along the way. When you have to wait years and years for your child to speak their first words, you learn to appreciate every utterance made along the journey.
In the special needs world I cherish everything that my son does. In the typical world the things that I praise him for are already expected for a child his age. I don’t mind; they are all victories to me.
The greatest lesson I have learned is to stop and smell the roses. I have learned to slow down and appreciate all the things that my son does. All of his accomplishments are celebrated be they big or small. I have learned to celebrate the little things in life.
I am not worried if my son will win the race, I am just happy if he gets out and runs.
I don’t care that my son didn’t walk until he was 2 years old, because he walks now.
I don’t care if my son can’t tie his own shoes; at least he has two feet to put them on.
I don’t care if my son didn’t’ speak clearly until he was 3, he can talk just fine now.
I don’t care if my son doesn’t have perfect vision, because he looks great in his glasses!
You know what I do care about?
I care about living in the moment with my child. This is what my son
does without even trying. It is such a beautiful quality that he possesses. He lives for the moment. He isn’t thinking to himself about whether or not he could ride that bike last week, he is just thinking about peddling his feet right now. He isn’t thinking about the words he couldn’t articulate last week. He is just thinking about sounding them out now, placing his tongue exactly where it needs to be in his mouth and sounding out that utterance for his therapist.
If you talk to a thousand special needs parents they would all tell you the same thing. Enjoy your child; enjoy the little things, slow down…STOP TO SMELL THE ROSES. These are all lessons we have learned from our “exceptional” children.
This chocolate cake is inspired from Chef Sergio at Xinalani Eco Resort in Mexico. This cake is divine! Originally specified to use regular flour, I have altered the recipe to be Gluten Free. Not only is it GF, but also Vegan. The cake tastes incredible and the texture is perfect, yes even for a GF and Vegan Cake. All you need to do is add your favorite icing and you are ready to knock the socks off of all your friends and family.
