Dear friends,
As the newest member of the Skyer Law family, I was asked to write a Thanksgiving greeting to the families the firm serves, you know, as some kind of hazing ritual. But I’m honored to do so because I’m one of you, and I know how the holiday season can be so complicated for families like ours.
My children, twins, just turned 4-years-old, so I’m still new(ish) to all of this. As such, I am often afflicted with self-doubt, dizzied by how much change there is in my life, exhausted by the learning-curve, and daunted by the strength and endurance I am expected to summon out of the smoke and ashes of the very different dreams I had for my family a few short years ago.
But what’s miraculous to me is that far from being alone in this, I have recently woken up to the fact that I am surrounded by this incredible professional community that supports special needs families and their children. Therapists and teachers. Social workers and doctors. Psychologists and lawyers. They see me and my kids at our worst and don’t judge. They scoop us up and dust us off when we collapse. They offer unsolicited (and solicited) advice that is actually helpful. They have our interests at heart, not some agency’s bottom-line. And they jump up and down and cheer in shared joy, celebrating every victory that others who I love and call family may not even know to acknowledge.
And then there’s you: my community of parents. You are the unexpected extra pair of hands on the city bus on a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. You are my heroine who has an extra fidget toy in her purse in yet another waiting room. You are the angel who brings wine every month to our parent support group meeting. (Seriously: Bless you, Tracy.) You are the friendly dad who sits in the back and swaps intel with me on the school open house circuit. You are the playdate mom who I’m actually excited to invite into the chaos of my home. Because you are me and I am you. And I’m grateful for that.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Eliyanna Kaiser