Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?
As Dads, some of us have a tendency to forget that our children aren't grown up yet. When you have a child who has special needs, we sometimes forget this too. In my home it's not uncommon for me to forget that my son doesn't process things the same way that I do. Most often my wife has to remind me.

I remember reading a short story about a dad who gets upset with his son who doesn't always tuck his shirt in, is sometimes clumsy, makes the wrong decision, and acts like a child at the wrong moments. Then one night as he looks in on his sleeping child and realizes that his son is still a child, and that he has been expecting too much from his boy who isn't yet a man.

When your child has a learning disability it can be easy to forget, for the same reason that others may not even know about it. It's invisible. And it’s equally easy to forget that their challenge can affect other areas of life besides just academics.

At the same time we may be impatient when our child isn't healed yet, or that it may take them longer to learn something that came easy to us. Like the dad in the story, we may be rushing our child, when at that exact time we should probably be thankful for how far they've come.

I often pray that I would be a good dad to my son, and I hope that I've set a good example for him to follow when he becomes a dad. And when I get upset for things that might be his fault (or possibly an effect of his disability), my wife sometimes needs to tell me that I should apologize and give my son a hug.

As a man, I can let my pride get in the way. Or I can humble myself and realize that I'm not perfect either...which takes me back to setting that example.