Dance like no one is looking...

I don't mean to get heavy all the time, but I'll always try to leave you with something positive.

Decided to leave the TV on for background noise while on the computer tonight...I'm not really a Paula fan but I am a music and dance lover.

To kind of give a little more of my background, as a teen in the early 70's I danced with a local group called " Up with People", I was gifted enough to be in the front row. So this new show "Live to Dance" caught my attention. I love Gene Kelly and still cry when I see Patrick Swayze.

But the young lady who gave it a good try, the deaf girl stirred up old feelings.
She spoke of her parents not realizing she was deaf, just thinking she was a defiant little girl.
Here is a vision most busy Moms encounter - holding your little toddler on your hip, maybe getting dinner, maybe doing the laundry, hearing the little voice call out Mom, Mom, Mom, then those little pudgy hands grasping each side of your cheeks trying to get you to look into theirs.
They just wanted to know you were listening to them, right?

Not in my case my bright little boy was reading my lips, reading my facial expressions so he would know what was going on. How intuitive for a two year old.
What kind of mother was I? What was wrong with me that I didn't know my son was partially deaf in one ear and completely deaf in the other? Always wondering if I made the right choice, I refused to sign school papers putting him in special education classes. Agreeing with a Otologist saying that a hearing aide or cochlear implant would only hinder the progress he had already made. This allowed him to fine tune what little hearing he had. This was the right choice for him and for us. He did in fact fine tune his hearing, he did self teach himself to read lips (which helped him on the baseball field, reading the opposing coaches lips, LOL). He was never listed as handicapped, and most people still do not know, his choice. At a young age, he meet with a therapist to learn speech for those letters we pronounce inside our mouth, ie: d,g,c etc.

So, I never really forgave myself...I am however a very Proud mom of a successful son who is an amazing speaker, a Purdue U. graduate (community service scholarships), a Masters from the U of IL.

So I guess my belief, in you can do anything, kinda rubbed off on my Son. Do ya think?

So those friends, parents who are struggling with their little ones that have hearing problems...
don't give up, hang in there, believe in yourself as a parents, believe in the strength of your child, keep reading to them, keep playing with them and everything will be okay.
And a little prayer can't hurt.