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Today, I'm grateful for a song I heard for the very first time. I listened to each word this afternoon and wiped the tears from my cheeks. It struck a nerve with me because it reminded me of motherhood. More specifically, motherhood to a daughter with special needs. Then I realized it's also her theme song. As much as she's been through, she hasn't given up. And that stubborn streak of hers tells me she's not going to, either. ;)

It also made me think of this list I read on a blog a while back. It listed reasons why being a mom to a child with special needs "rocks". And I've added some reasons of my own... ;)

*Because doctors have told us the worst, and we've refused to believe them.
*Because we’ve discovered patience we never knew we had.
*Because we are willing to do something 10 times, 100 times, 1,000 times if that’s what it takes for our kids to learn something new.
*Because we never imagined that “doing it all” would mean doing this much. But we do it all, and then some.
*Because we have bad days and breakdowns and bawl-fests, and then we pick ourselves up and keep right on going.
*Because we gracefully handle the stares, the comments, the rude remarks. Well, mostly gracefully.
*Because we manage to get ourselves together and get out the door looking pretty darn good.
*Because we are strong. Man, are we strong. Who knew we could be this strong?
*Because we aren’t just moms, wives, cooks, cleaners, chauffeurs, women who work. We are moms, wives, cooks, cleaners, chauffeurs, women who work, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, researchers, nurses, coaches, and cheerleaders. Whew.
*Because we work overtime every single day.
*Because we also worry overtime, but we work it through. Or we eat chocolate or gourmet cheese, which aren't reimbursable by insurance as mental-health necessities but should be.
*Because we give our kids with special needs endless love, and then we still have so much love left for our other kids, our husbands, our family. And our hairstylist, of course.
*Because we understand our kids better than anyone else—even if they can’t talk, even if they can’t gesture, even if they can't look us in the eye. We know. We just know.
*Because we never stop pushing for our kids.
*Because we never stop hoping for them, either.
*Because just when it seems like things are going okay, they're suddenly not okay, but we deal. Somehow, we always deal, even when it seems like our heads or hearts might explode.
*Because when we look at our kids we just see great kids. Not "kids with cerebral palsy/autism/Down syndrome/developmental delays/whatever label."

*Because we needed them as much as they needed us, and we do what's best for them no matter what.