I was presented with an amazing opportunity the other day when I was asked if I would be happy to be interviewed to talk about my journey with Hope and her progress in a particular skill for World Disability Day. I said yes, without even thinking twice, but then I found out it was for video and I was going to be recorded and I have to admit that I freaked out a little. I got over that freak out though, and went for it.

The idea of the interview was to talk about Hope’s progress and our experiences with a particular program. I was asked a number of questions and spoke about how there’s no need for Hope to be “left out” or “excluded” in something that so many other kids get to enjoy, while allowing her to be herself and not having to try to be anyone else.

Now, I don’t want to talk about the interview so much, just one question that was asked of me that got me thinking.

What are your most proud moments?

During the interview I was relating it back to what we were discussing but afterwards, while watching Hope I realised I was proud of so much. I’m not sure a day goes by where I’m not proud of her in some way or another but it’s a different feeling to that I get when I think about Lincoln or Alexander’s achievements.

Whenever Hope achieves something, I see all the effort and hard work she has put in. I see all the tears and the “pushing” that it has required. I know how hard it has been for her, and continues to be for her but she keeps on going. A lot of things that Hope has had to work for, comes so easily to Lincoln and Alexander. Just sitting took so much effort. She hated having to try and sit for minutes at a time and would fight it. The look on her face as she did was sometimes heartbreaking, but we did it. And she did it. Walking has been the same. There’s been times she sat on the floor refusing to move, or she would stand for 1 second, then as we held her hands to help her walk, she would be pulling herself away and down. But she put in the hard work and when she realised she could do it, the look on her face said it all. She was excited. She was proud of herself and boy was I proud!

It’s not only in these big things though. Even the small things have been difficult. I had to continue to help to feed Hope much longer than I did with the boys because the skill of using a spoon or fork were difficult. Things like holding a pencil, drinking from a straw (we are still working on drinking from a cup), pressing buttons and following simple commands. Every time she has mastered one of these skills has been a proud moment. I’m not saying I wasn’t proud when the boys learnt to do all these things, it’s just a different sense of pride, and I guess when I think about it, a little more noticeable.

So what are my most proud moments? It’s when the everyday small things have been achieved because I know how hard it has been for her to achieve them.

Now I’m sitting here writing this wondering if I celebrate the little things enough with the boys??? So, I will leave the blog there and will have to think about that some more.