Katrina, who has commented here, is a blogging buddy of mine in our 31 Days Blog Challenge.  I’ve been following her for a little while, and she writes really well about being a special needs mom.  Her post, “The Truth About Being the Perfect Special Needs Parent” is one of her best.

In this post, she writes about the constant feeling of failure, like she isn’t being everything she can be for her kids.

I know this feeling.

Twice this summer, The Boy has had such magnificent, long-lasting meltdowns, that I was the one who ended up pacing the floors, unsure of what to do, unable to pull anything from my bag of tricks because it was completely empty.  I was the one moved to tears because I was tired, emotionally spent, and couldn’t take it for one more second.  I was the one who felt like such an astounding failure.

Katrina ends her post by writing about how important it is to lean on others, accept support, and let others be strong for us, even when it is the last thing we want to do.

I am lucky to have The Man, mind-reader that he is, who (during the second meltdown, as I was pacing, and probably looking like a kicked puppy) said, “You have done all you can do.  There is nothing left.  You are not a failure.”

I urge you to go read Kat’s blog, katscafe.org.  She gives a beautifully written voice to us special needs parents.