Kloey is a part of our family, a very big and important part of our family. Naturally, we take her with us on outings, errands, and vacations. This does require more time and energy on our parts but the joy that we get from having our entire family together is priceless.
We do not, could not, and would not exclude her from anything, from being a part of this family just because she requires a bit more work. Yes, people sometimes look at us differently but who cares? I don't. My sweet girl is just being herself and we're all there to experience our day together.
Some have suggested that it is admirable of us to include her in this way. We never even thought of it that way. I guess one day we just put on our big kid panties, rolled up our sleeves and said, "Well, time to take the family on a vacation". There wasn't even a thought of "where should Kloey be when we all go to the beach. Or, "how can we escape the extra work and energy that is Kloey?" It was more like, "what extra resources do we pull to make this more bearable?" or "what can we do to make this fun for the WHOLE family?"
I love having Kloey with us. Just as I love having Kourtney and Joseph with us. Kourtney loves having Kloey with us. Joseph adores his big sister Kloey. Kloey is Kloey. Kloey is us.
So, the next time you see me with my little girl, tackling a day at the beach, running down the sand with her for the one millionth time, while she is giggling like a crazy person tasting sweet freedom for the first time, just know one thing.... I'm not even thinking of her diagnosis. Her siblings and father aren't thinking of her diagnosis. And she is DEFINITELY not thinking of her diagnosis. All she's thinking about is running through the sand, making friends, and probably when would be the best time to snag the cookies that are waiting in the cooler.
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