LisaGreene
New member
Hi All,
I want to share my favorite writing (of my own) with you. It is currently even being translated into French! I wrote the outline for it on the back of a napkin at Chuck-e-Cheese (how's that for a mom thing??). Following is just the first couple of paragraphs but I just posted the whole thing in the blogs. Enjoy!
Lisa G.
<b>Finding Nemo, Finding a Hero </b>
Parenting Children with Special Needs
By Lisa C. Greene
If you ask me whether I've seen a particular adult movie, my response is likely to be "No." But if you ask me about any kid movie, I could tell you about the characters, plot, and punch-line all in one breath. That's how it is when you live with young children.
So, it shouldn't be too surprising when I tell you that it was in the Disney movie Finding Nemo that I saw a great metaphor of what it is like to live with kids with special needs. You see, both of our children have cystic fibrosis so I know what it's like. And, like the clown fish dad on Nemo (named Marlin) I have journeyed from the place of over-protective and "worried about everything" to "still worried about everything but handling it a lot better."
I suppose there is always room for improvement in most everything in life, especially parenting. The problem with parenting is that we may not realize how much improvement we really need until it's too late (ie: our teenagers become hellions and we wonder what happened). The problem with parenting kids with special needs is that "too late" doesn't mean just a dented car or some experimentation with booze or sex- it can mean the difference between life and death. The stakes can be so very high...
The struggle to resist the powerful parental impulses to rescue, hover and over-protect are played out in Finding Nemo. The paradox is that it is in letting go of the intense need for protection that actually gives a child the freedom to become a hero and to unlock the greatness of spirit inherent within those who have learned to cope well with hardship and suffering. Just like Nemo!
(To read the rest, visit LisaGreene's blog).
I want to share my favorite writing (of my own) with you. It is currently even being translated into French! I wrote the outline for it on the back of a napkin at Chuck-e-Cheese (how's that for a mom thing??). Following is just the first couple of paragraphs but I just posted the whole thing in the blogs. Enjoy!
Lisa G.
<b>Finding Nemo, Finding a Hero </b>
Parenting Children with Special Needs
By Lisa C. Greene
If you ask me whether I've seen a particular adult movie, my response is likely to be "No." But if you ask me about any kid movie, I could tell you about the characters, plot, and punch-line all in one breath. That's how it is when you live with young children.
So, it shouldn't be too surprising when I tell you that it was in the Disney movie Finding Nemo that I saw a great metaphor of what it is like to live with kids with special needs. You see, both of our children have cystic fibrosis so I know what it's like. And, like the clown fish dad on Nemo (named Marlin) I have journeyed from the place of over-protective and "worried about everything" to "still worried about everything but handling it a lot better."
I suppose there is always room for improvement in most everything in life, especially parenting. The problem with parenting is that we may not realize how much improvement we really need until it's too late (ie: our teenagers become hellions and we wonder what happened). The problem with parenting kids with special needs is that "too late" doesn't mean just a dented car or some experimentation with booze or sex- it can mean the difference between life and death. The stakes can be so very high...
The struggle to resist the powerful parental impulses to rescue, hover and over-protect are played out in Finding Nemo. The paradox is that it is in letting go of the intense need for protection that actually gives a child the freedom to become a hero and to unlock the greatness of spirit inherent within those who have learned to cope well with hardship and suffering. Just like Nemo!
(To read the rest, visit LisaGreene's blog).