Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Fun at the Pool

I took off from work early yesterday because it was the annual pool party hosted by the Early Intervention/Baby Watch folks. They have a physical therapy pool at the special needs school that they keep at bath water temperatures and once a year it's open plunge time for the students and their families.

I've mentioned before how much my daughter loves the water. Well, I learned yesterday that she's not alone. The pool was full of children with some kind of disability and their parents. Most kids were laughing, swimming, floating, playing and splashing. I did notice a few who stayed close to the steps, but most were out having a great time. There were all kinds of cool pool toys and other kids to play with. It was a lot of fun.

It was also a great opportunity to observe other families that are doing the same thing my wife and I are doing. That is, living life to the fullest all while raising a disabled child. And it appears that the parents I saw are a lot like me. We all just try to do our best. I think parents of disabled children are forced to learn even faster than parents of typical children that we just don't have all the answers. So we do the best we can with what we know and try not to stress out. And seek every opportunity to have a good time. A free pool party is a nice benefit now and then. Who knows, maybe I'll get my daughter to swim before she can crawl!

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