I need your best inspirational quote please!

[jojosmom]

I am having an extremely difficult time right now finding daycare for my ds7 and could really use some great quotes to put on my son's binder, so that I can look at them and remind me that all this frustration and intolerance to children with special needs is really worth it at the end of the day. Thanks

 

[tarkus]

I am having an extremely difficult time right now finding daycare for my ds7 and could really use some great quotes to put on my son's binder, so that I can look at them and remind me that all this frustration and intolerance to children with special needs is really worth it at the end of the day. Thanks

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Regards,
Alan

 

[MightyMom]

I am having an extremely difficult time right now finding daycare for my ds7 and could really use some great quotes to put on my son's binder, so that I can look at them and remind me that all this frustration and intolerance to children with special needs is really worth it at the end of the day. Thanks

This isn't a quote... just a little mini pep rally.....

The frustration you feel and intolerance you encounter is nothing but negative energy. It's NOT worth it at the end of the day unless you turn that negative energy into positive energy.

You have to be the strongest advocate for your child. If you do not advocate for him, who will? In order to advocate you must educate.

Ignorance breeds fear.

The next time you get frustrated by intolerance use that as motivation to make changes. Your child has rights. Become familiar with them and make sure those intolerant individuals become familiar as well.

Let me give you a quick little example of how I turned anger and frustration into a positive thing.

A few months ago I was visiting a furniture store with my family. (DS is in a wheelchair) We got to the front of the store when I quickly realized there was no ramp to get inside. Nor was there a sign indicating where the accessible entrance was. I went inside and asked a sales person to direct me. They told us we were welcome to use the ramp in the back of the store.

We walked all the way down a long alley and got to the "ramp". It was actually a very steep loading dock with a 5 foot drop of the side... there were no handrails and I could hardly push his chair up the ramp. I got inside the store and looked for the manager. I was LIVID! The manager gave said they weren't required to have a ramp out front, or handicap accessible spaces.

I left the store boiling. I did a bit of research and found out the store had 15 locations nationwide. I got the owners address and wrote him a letter. I also sent him a copy of ADA standards for accessibility.

I knew perfectly well he was under no obligation to make those modifications... but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

Within weeks the owner sent me a very nice letter..... and now the store has a very nice ramp and handicap parking spots!

I know not every situation will work out like that.... but I hope yours does.

 

[JenJen]

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

“You won't realize the distance you've walked until you take a look around and realize how far you've been.”

 

[dbarker]

From Walter E. Disney himself:

"To all who come to this happy place; welcome."

And from Mary Poppins:

In every job that must be done,
There is an element of fun.
You find the fun, and snap!
The job's a game.

 

[samkj]

Not a quote but a must read essay if you haven't seen it before (and great re-read if you have!)

The Special Mother

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of special needs children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of special needs children are chosen? Somehow, I envision God hovering over the Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger:

"Armstrong, Beth. Son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Forest, Marjorie. Daughter. Patron Saint, Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie. Twins. Patron
Saint?.......give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "give her a special needs child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, Lord? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God, "Could I give a special needs child to a mother who doesn't know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But does she have patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it okay.

I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence that are so rare, and so necessary, in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, what if she doesn't believe in you?" asks the angel.

God smiles, "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods, "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child who will be a little less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied.

She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says 'Mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."

I will permit her to see clearly the things I see - ignorance, cruelty, prejudice - and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work, as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron Saint, my Lord?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

by Erma Bombeck

 

[Nanajo1]

I left the store boiling. I did a bit of research and found out the store had 15 locations nationwide. I got the owners address and wrote him a letter. I also sent him a copy of ADA standards for accessibility.

I knew perfectly well he was under no obligation to make those modifications... but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

Within weeks the owner sent me a very nice letter..... and now the store has a very nice ramp and handicap parking spots!

I know not every situation will work out like that.... but I hope yours does.

I would have sent him a copy of the invoice all the furniture I didn't buy at his store.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

This could possibly, when you think of it, apply to the situation. When the original Disney Institute first openedone of their bulleting boards had the following quote from Mark Twain painted along the boards border.

A man who carries a cat by the tail will learn something he can not learn in any other manner.

 

[HopperFan]

"The very things that held you down are going to carry you up".
Quote by Timothy Mouse, Dumbo

 

[Carnator]

God, make the task you put in front of me easy. If not, please make me stronger.

 

[Forevryoung]

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm"- Winston Churchill

"If you are going through Hell, keep going"- Winston Churchill

Good Luck,
Kate

 

[Howard412]

Courtesy of REM;

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

(Couldn't choose my favourite line)

Courtesy of Eminem;

I'm a soldier, these shoulders hold up so much, they won't budge, I'll never
fall or fold up.
I'm a soldier, Even if my collar bones crush or crumble, I will never slip or
stumble.

'Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that s**t out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse....

I will not fall,
I will stand tall,
Feels like no one could beat me.

Latin

Ad astra per aspera - To the stars through difficulty
Ad augusta per angusta - To high places by narrow roads

Misc

It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up - Vince Lombardi

 

[daipp]

The important thing is not to stop quiestioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
Albert Einstein

It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But it is better to be good than to be ugly.
Oscar Wilde

Don't let the buggers grind you down.
Myself

David

 

[MN Dis Fans]

Here's mine, from the book Lust For Life about Vincent Van Gogh, who had his own struggles.

Many times in your life you may think you are failing. But ultimately you will express yourself, and that expression will justify your life.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know where this is from but,
The way to move a mountain is a pebble at a time.

 

[1stluvispooh]

I don't know how insperational this is more girl power.

Ginger Rodgers did everything Fred Astaire did but she did it backwards and in high heels!

You go girl!

 

[isla bonita]

I read this on the dis a while back and am passing it along once again.


WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

 

[Napria]

Emily Perl Kingsley is the mother of a child with Down Syndrome.

I have a child with partial blindness, intractible epilepsy, mild CP and Asperger Syndrome. But he looks normal. We get dirty looks all the time: when my kid doesn't understand personal space and violates a strangers, when we park in the handicap spots, even though he qualifies for -- and we use -- a handicap hangtag, when he throws up or urinates on himself while having a seizure. After reading "Welcome to Holland" one to many times and feeling it just didn't apply I composed this and passed it along to some other moms of kids with Hidden Disabilities, who seemed to appreciate it.

We’re Not in Holland
(or What it’s Like to Have a Child with Multiple Hidden Disabilities)

We never planned to go to Italy. No, after years of hard work, my husband and I planned a simple little trip to Disneyland. After all, it’s the American Dream, isn’t it?

And we didn’t end up in Holland. There was careful planning, with the knowledge that we could end up in Holland on an erratic whim of fate. But chances are we’d end up just where we planned: Disneyland. Everything was going to be sunshine and fun. When our plane was landing, though, we heard, “Welcome to Russia.”

Well -- Russia. This was not expected, but I adapted, perhaps a bit faster than my husband. After all, I’m the one with the talent for picking up new languages. I’m the adventurous one. We saw St. Basil’s Cathedral. We toured the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and saw the lovely canals there. We were amazed at the beauty of the Peterhof fountains. Russia wasn’t so bad after all.

But the longer we are here, the more we notice other things, less beautiful things. First we noticed how difficult it is to get around. Yes, I am picking up the language, but there is so much to learn, so much I still don’t know. It’s also very cold here with little comfort but each other at times. There are also a lot of people here, which may be why resources are so scarce. We wait in line with others for bread and meat, and although they’re friendly enough, we don’t have very much in common besides our hunger. And we never realized how expensive getting on the wrong tour would be!

It’s not all bad. There is beauty here. But there are so many difficulties and although the language and culture are feeling more and more familiar to us, we can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to get on the right plane – the one that was going to Disneyland. Because, you see, this trip is a one-way trip. We will never see Disneyland.

And here’s the other thing: Most people don’t realize we ended up in Russia. Oh, they know that we didn’t end up in our original destination, but many think we’re just in Euro Disney: A little different, yes, perhaps not as sunny as California. But once you get over the language barrier, it’s just fine.

 

[Napria]

Here's my inspirational quote. It was repeated over and over at the LaLeche League meetings I attended: "It's just a phase."

My other favorite quote is: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
-Elanor Roosevelt