#BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAY MOVIE#
#BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAY SKIN#

Interested in writing for Finding Cooper’s Voice? LEARN MOREįinding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Her son, Jack, has autism, cerebral palsy and developmental delay. Mary Harwell lives in Mississippi with her husband, 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter. Then he will be relieved to go back to his routine.Īt Jack’s request, we will talk about the party every day for the next year until his 15th birthday, when we will happily celebrate with a Sesame Street party again. We will give him a few presents, all of which will be slinkies, his favorite toy. If he gets overwhelmed we will stop and try again later. We will feel the happiest we will ever feel if he enjoys it and laughs and blows his candles out.

We will light the candles on his cake and sing happy birthday to him. We will order pizza for dinner like we do every year for his birthday. We will stick to his regular schedule so that he does not get derailed or overstimulated. We will tell him how old he is and continue to tell him the same thing every 30 minutes or so for the rest of the day. On the day of his birthday, we will wake him up and remind him that it’s his birthday. I love that he will forever have a childlike innocence that the rest of us lose pretty quickly along the way.

#BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAY SKIN#

I love that he will never understand that some people judge others for their differences, the color of their skin or who they love. I love that he will never fully understand that there is cruelty and injustice in our world. While the uncertainty of his future and ours terrifies me, I love that he will most likely still find pure joy in Sesame Street characters in 15 years while other 30 year olds are immersed in the stresses of everyday adult life. I can’t help but wonder if we will still be having Sesame Street parties for him when he is 30 and his dad and I are approaching our senior years. We sit here, frozen at age 2, only his body and ours continue to age.

In many ways, it feels like time stands still for us when it comes to my son Jack. I still have a child who calls me mommy and needs me by his side to fall asleep at night. Why wouldn’t I be excited to celebrate the day of his birth? The day this brave, funny, loving soul entered the world fighting for his life and introduced us to a love we had never known before.Ī part of me feels lucky that I don’t have to say goodbye to the days of preschool themed parties.įourteen years later, and I still have a child who loves to play peek-a-boo and read board books. The emotions this stirs up are hard to put into words. I had to search Amazon for Sesame Street decorations that didn’t have ‘Happy 2nd Birthday’ written on them. Meanwhile, I am planning a Sesame Street party for the 12th year in a row.

#BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAY MOVIE#

Rather, they are going out to dinner with a few friends or possibly having a few friends to spend the night and go to a movie or a sporting event. Of course they have outgrown themed birthday parties. Their boys are starting to look like men. I’ve seen pictures of their sons’ fourteenth birthday celebrations over the past few months. I’m still friends with these moms but mostly just through social media. Needless to say my visions of our boys growing up together, having play dates, going to the same school and being on the same sports teams did not pan out. When my son was born, I had several friends who had baby boys around the same time. This is what birthdays with severe autism and developmental delay look like for us. More than four very familiar people will overwhelm him. The party guest will be me, his dad, his younger sister, and his grandmother. He will be 14 years old and we are having a Sesame Street themed party with an Oscar the Grouch cake. My son’s birthday is this week and I am planning a party for him.

Bittersweet birthday