Day 10

Not Alone. I think it’s fair to say loneliness is a condition well understood by most parents of kids with special needs. I noticed early on in my special motherhood the phone rang less, invitations reduced, and many old friends stayed away. I also retreated. I didn’t want to have to explain how I needed to meet in less crowded, less noisy places because it could set off my child’s seizures. I didn’t want to answer questions about his development or the size of his head. It just became easier to isolate and make my world smaller. With COVID-19, it’s become even tinier—a topic for another day—but I have yet again adjusted my expectations and accepted this “new normal”. Today, the pangs loneliness crept in unexpectedly like a dark dreary storm front. Thankfully, my pride did not prevent me from reaching out to a friend in similar circumstances, and she quickly reminded me I am NOT alone. It is so easy to forget in your suffering that the world is FULL of many who are lonely, rejected and abandoned. As I walk, the knowledge that there are lonely others out there drops deep in my heart. I cannot make the pandemic go away or improve their circumstances, but I can remember them, pray for them, and then maybe spiritually I can accompany them and “be” with them. How do you cope with times of loneliness? May the Spirit of God come upon you and be with you in your hour of loneliness! God bless!