This week I went to a conference on Raising Aspirations for people with special needs who are transitioning from childhood to adulthood, and what the opportunities are. A couple of the sessions had me catching tears with the scratchy lunchroom napkins I had shoved into my pocketbook at lunch. The image of a 63 year old woman with her first paycheck ever was beautiful. And yet sad because why did it have to wait until she was 63? There were stories of hope, and there were stories of failure. They both made me cry. As a parent of a son with autism, I want to have high hopes for him. What is reasonable to expect of him, of us, of the larger society? A statement to "plan for your child to be poor" was heartbreaking. Who wants to envision that for their child?
This week I watched American Idol with my younger son. People have mixed views of American Idol. But it's interesting to see these artists grow and change and become. This 20 year old young man from Leesburg, Georgia won the competition and sang this song. Which speaks so much to the journey ahead. I've been carrying this song around with me while I work and mom. These lines in particular:
