Hey beautiful friends! I'm so glad to be here with you this May. If I'm honest... it's my least favorite month of the year. And also, it's the best month because of birthdays and spring and Mother's Day. (We get a day all dedicated to us.)

This brings me to such a conflicting space. Mother's Day aligns with the busyness of a season that is notably the most challenging we get around here in the special-needs-parenting-world. Primarily because of change. So, loving my Wild child right now means exposing myself to being shut down, stomped all over, or yelled at in the middle of a perfectly lovely grocery shopping trip. (I mean, we got treats!)

It is so, so brave to love our challenging and differently-wired kids. Mainly because with many of them, we don't know what to expect. Today, will Wild greet me with a smile and a hug after school? Or will she list all of the peers who "purposefully" did not smile at her today. (She struggles with facial expressions and has ever since she could speak.) Who knows which child day-end will meet?

Yet, this opportunity (yes, I said opportunity) is a big one.

It's a place of refinement.

To love without expectation of love in return. In my circumstances, I know my Wild loves me. But her actions often don't show it. (Let's flashback to our grocery store trip again...)

So, how do you love unconditionally here?

Psychology Today says, "Unconditional love isn't just what we feel. It's what the object of our love feels: love without strings attached. That means our child doesn't have to be, or do, anything in particular to earn our love. We love her exactly as she is."

Does your child know you love him or her without any strings attached?

For anyone hesitating (and potentially, just so exhausted by motherhood), I found a great read on PT here. I hope you'll take a moment and check it out. We can do this, friends. And we're better together.

Cheering you on, always.

XOX J.