Imagine for a moment that adults wrote letters to Santa too. What would you ask for?
A parent of a child with additional needs has done exactly that.
Dear Santa,
I keep seeing adverts on TV for things like cars and jewellery. Don’t get me wrong, that looks lovely – and I wouldn’t mind either of those things – but as a parent of a child with additional needs, there’s so much that’s more important to me this Christmas.
I hope you see me taking care of my child Santa. I do the best I can, even though I always wish I could do more, or do better. Some days I’m convinced that a lump of coal is all I deserve! That’s actually why I’m writing. I get overwhelmed by the needs, and just a few little things would make life so much better; not just for me, but more importantly for my child.
Patience. I try so hard to keep my patience, but it always seems to be running thin. If you could stretch it just a little bit every day, that would definitely help.
Sleep. I can’t remember the last time I felt well-rested. Maybe just a truly good night’s rest once in a while would do the trick, but if you’re feeling generous, a night or two a week of sleeping through the night would be life-changing!
A healthy New Year. I know a whole year is a lot to ask, but it seems natural after Christmas to think about the coming year. It would be amazing for my child to have a whole year of good health!
A few less appointments, phone calls, and driving. I can’t even begin to imagine how you would do that, but maybe, just maybe it could happen.
If all of the above is too much to ask, could you please send a bit of extra joy our way? Kind strangers, loving family and friends to lend us their joy and strength and patience when ours runs low?
If nothing else, I think that coffee and chocolate would help an awful lot. Is there some kind of magical refillable cup you could send?
Thank you in advance, Santa!
I promise to leave you a glass of milk, mince pie and a few carrots for the reindeer.
With love,
An Additional Needs Parent
Here at Care for the Family we know what a difference it can make to chat to another parent who ‘gets it’ so we offer a telephone befriending service. If you would like more information please get in touch.
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