Day 2

Madison is turning 22 this May and can no longer go to high school. Madison still attends school because it gives her something to do everyday and it also helps my mom out. My mom is a stay at home mom, but that is her job. She works just as hard as anyone else and most of her time is spent doing things with and for Madison. Next year is going to be very different for her, every time she needs to do something like go to the grocery store she will have to find someone to babysit Madison. Everyone always asks me if we have help at home with taking care of Madison and when I say that my mom does it all they are shocked. It is a lot of work but I have never once heard my mom complain about it. Some parents might give up or send their child away or put them in a place where other people can care for them but my parents would never do that. They love and care for Madison the same as they do me and my other sisters. I try to help out as much as I can and if I ever get aggravated with having to help feed Madison or take care of her I just think about my mom and how she does it all day everyday. I want families with special needs children in them to know that it is possible. It is possible to be there and care for your child, and even though it may be hard at times, not to give up. It is okay to not necessarily be able to do everything like go out to eat all the time or go shopping with the whole family and things like that. Every family has different reasons for not being able to do the "normal" things and you just embrace that as a family and move on and enjoy the things you can do.