I’m a parent. Parenting can be hard going at times.  I have one at the What Is My Place In The World? stage, one at the Pushing The Boundaries stage and one at the OMG I Have To Decide What To Do With The Rest Of My Life stage. They each present their own challenges and sometimes it can seem like we’ll never get through it unscathed.

Also, two of them are redheads.

Two weeks ago, I started volunteering at a nearby school that caters for children with severe intellectual and physical disabilities. At the time, I was dealing with some pretty challenging behaviours at home. At least, I thought I was. My first day at the school was a salient lesson in perspective.

As difficult as my children might be at times, I know that eventually they will grow into independent citizens of the world. For most of the parents at my school, this is a luxury they will never enjoy. Parenting a child with severe disabilities means caring full time for that child for the rest of your life. And it is a life filled with daily challenges that would seem insurmountable to those of us with just the regular parenting issues.

I am glad I am there every week to be continually reminded that perhaps things at home are not so bad after all.