Dial “5″ if You Have Special Needs
I have special needs.
No, I’m not handicapped (in a conventional way).
I just think I’m special.
Or more to the point,
I like to be treated as someone special.
“Who we are has been sidetracked by labels for who we aren’t. Phrase names have divided us. Stay-at-home mom, new dad, parent of special needs child, working mother, job sharer, non-custodial parent, single parent, empty nesters, spouse caring for spouse, parent with teens, teenage parent, elder caregiver—these and so many other titles have put us in little niches and kept us thinking that we can’t help each other because… we are so different. But we are not a collection of separate sub-species. We caregivers are more like one another than not, no matter how we spend our days.”
Quotation from Paula C. Lowe, Care Pooling
April 10th, 2008 at 3:14 am
*L*…Special need are required…;-)
April 10th, 2008 at 3:55 am
I am reminded so often of childhood memories when my children remind me of theirs and how we cared for them just as we now see them caring for their children. We always needed to be treated as someone special because we are.
best wishes
April 10th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Fancy: Hugs. You are indeed special. I love your blog.
Lindsaylobe: Family is amazing, when you can keep it together like that. You’re special.
Here’s a poem I just left at Correr Es Mi Destino. I wrote it half-asleep and I rather like it- I’m sure Zhu won’t mind me sharing it with you.
By the way- she’s running a contest atm, with the prize of Free Advertising for your website on hers!
Her url is: ==> http://correresmidestino.com/
Leaving, arriving, coming, going,
to, fro, in, out- it’s
all breathing
and the angle at which the sun or moon touch your face.
Winter soon turns to spring followed by
months of bad sledding
and spoiled macaroni salad.
Don’t eat the rainbow-coloured ham and
learn to appreciate the yellowjackets,
for they need to live just as much as you do.
Behind the next tree is another tree.
Somewhere in the forest is your tree,
if you keep your mind open.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Good Morning! My Mom was a “stay at home” Mom because my Dad was old-fashioned and wouldn’t let her work. So, he worked 2 jobs and we made it. It was cool having her around and then later in Dad’s life I became one of his “caregivers” with love!
April 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
you are so right!
i am home, almost averyday people from call centers phone to sell something and for me to donate some money…they are so anoying, its like we don´t anything more to do…i have to say, that´s why i hate to be on the phone…i prefer personal meetings…
a kiss and a hug,
Kira
thanks a lot for coming at my blog!
April 10th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I don’t like labels!! I am just….ME. lol
April 10th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I need to dial “5″!!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Dial 18 if you are effing sick of data voices and machines and would like to chat with a real human being. The former Mayor of Toronto refused to use voice mail in City Hall. Calls were put through by a human to whoever you wanted, including him. I tried it once. “Hell, this is Mayor Lastman, how can I help?” Nice…
April 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Great poem and I like its thoughtful life embrace, it reminds me of what Albert Schweitzer said ~The deeper we look into nature, the more we realize that it is full of life, and the more profoundly we know that all life is a secret and that we are united with all life that is in nature. Man can no longer live for himself alone. We must realize that all life is valuable and that we are united to all life. From this knowledge comes our spiritual relationship to the universe.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Even written half-asleep, I loved the poem. Fitted the post perfectly… Best things are often written half-sleepy, half-sick, half-mad etc. A whole person is too sane for this kind of deep thinking
Keeping the mind open is indeed the key. There are plenty of trees, some half hidden, some easy to reach but not that fun, some that take some time to be found.
I like your universe girl!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
That was refreshing. I love it.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
You certainly hit the nail on the head with the voice messaging systems. One of my job duties is to acquire medical insurance authorizations for surgeries so I call all over the country (there are thousands of them). The number games have to be played with each and every one but.every single time you deal with an automatic system (that’s often defective) a person with a job has been replaced. I hit buttons until I get a person. I believe in people not machines.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I think everyone one of us is a “special needs” person, because we all have different “special” needs, wants, etc. In that sense, I think we tend to treat everyone differently - kind of like, we treat people accordingly… I hope you follow what I’m trying to say… argh.. I’m just not good with words today for some reason…
Anyway… with the automated voice systems, that’s about the only time we all get treated equally. No matter who calls, regardless of race, color, creed… we are all equally subjected to the same crappy machine.