As a member of the NPND staff, one of my responsibilities includes working on the Friday Fax. Each week I have the priviledge of sharing articles of inspiration, advocacy, and information all on behalf of individuals with special needs. During this holiday season, I would like to share with you a poem of inspiration of my own. It is about a mother who took in a nine-month old foster child who had more problems than doctors could understand, and, as a result, was slated to be sent to a mental institution. It is about a mother who saw a spark in the child's eyes and decided never to let her go. This poem is dedicated to the memory of this mother who later adopted this child. It is also a gift to all mothers like her. I am this child, and over thirty years later, I am living proof of what a difference a mother's love can make in a child's life.
To All The Mothers Like Mine
A long time ago, as the story goes.
A child was born with ten fingers and ten toes.
Two arms, two legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose.
And the mother loved her
The Professionals said wait, something is not right.
Your child is different and quite a sight
One leg longer than the other and club feet.
Facial paralysis. Yes, your child's incomplete!
But the mother loved her...
She is nothing more than a blob, they did say.
Cant walk, cant talk, she is in the mentally impaired way.
Yet the mother still loved her
Years have gone by and you should see!
The result of my mother's belief in me.
I have two legs and two feet that can walk.
A mouth that can talk talk talk.
Two eyes that can intellectually see,
and have allowed me to earn two degrees.
Because my mother loved me!
To all the mothers like mine.
Thank you for following your heart and believing in the possibilities.
With love, Laura
Please by all means to re-print it. I am happy to share it, as she was a wonderful woman who saw something in me when no one else did. It is the foundation on which my life is built.
Reprinted with permission from FRIDAY FAX for December 18, 1998 - Issue 122, sponsored by
the National Parent Network on Disabilities (NPND)
1130 17th Street, NW Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 463-2299 (202) 463-9403 (fax)
[email protected] http://www.npnd.org
