Throughout Bridget’s life, while I may not always be Kerri-Sunshine, it has been actually easy to be Bridget’s mom. There have been well documented posts when that has not been the case, but in reality, those moments are blips within her life time.
When I look back over her 17 years, the moments that have brought me to my knees have been far less than the moments that have allowed me to let her live this best life. In honor of Bridget’s 17th birthday, I am sharing the 17 best things about being Bridget’s mom.
On her 17th birthday all she wanted was dinner at the 99 restaurants, with her strawberry daiquiri and Doc McStuffins Cake.
The joy she has working in her school’s greenhouse. Since her dad and I are not green thumbs, nor do we enjoy yard work, we have no idea why she loves this vocational site so much. We are just thankful it exists in her world.
When in the public school, she learned how to ride big yellow school bus with her friends.
Her love of camping and kayaking.
The bond she has with her sister.
She learned to jump and swing.
No matter how many times she has had to go to Children’s for painful procedures, she has always walked in with a smile. Also, that she has stopped pushing the emergency stop buttons in the elevator.
She talks! Sometimes we need context or she needs us to help her translate to someone what she is talking about, but the girl who would never, frequently convinces strangers in Market Basket that they need PINK pop tarts
The girl would never has rolled over and jumped, she swims and climbs!
After spending her toddler years in feeding therapy, she not only loves to eat but to bake and cook.
Her sense of fashion. For a time, it was dresses, then sparkly shoes and now as a girl after my own heart: wearing her Bruins jersey. Everywhere!
Bridget is the best travel companion. She is up for any road trip, brings a bag of snacks and has hardly any bathroom breaks. She offers random hugs and notices things like the sunset or that there is a Dunkin coming up. She doesn’t even mind sleeping in the car or a random parking lot if we are arriving before our reservation time. Though you do have to convince her that she cannot be in the drivers seat!
The girl loves to camp. She would spend her year camping, if we let her. I hope it is because we are all together. But if I were being honest, it would probably be because there is usually a pool nearby.
Bridget is so kind and funny. She has, since pre-k, developed friendships both with her peers and her educational/therapeutic team. Her friendships look different from those her numerological age and those her developmental age. Yet, they are so similar. The joy they have within those friendships remains the same. The friends she left behind when we transferred her out of the traditional school system will still greet her with a smile and a hug. She makes people laugh.
Bridget is not perfect, and I am not talking about her health issues. She is stubborn. She is sometimes disrespectful. She will try to avoid hard things. She will slam doors and refuse to do chores. She cheats at Candy Land and tries to at Uno. How awesome is it that she is a typical teenager in all the best ways possible.
Bridget has so many moments where I am wondering how she did that? I know it is sheer determination. For example, the day she took over her sister’s bedroom. She not only moved everything she did not want into another room, but she also moved all of her bedding and special things into Abbey’s room. When she was younger, she used to move all of our furniture into different rooms in some kind of fen shui. She has such determination and a way to make things work, for her (not always for anyone else).
Just months before her first birthday, we were told Bridget would never amount to anything. She would never roll over, have a quality of life, speak or walk. I don’t know how much she heard or understood, but she seems to have taken on that challenge and has decided to tell the world just let me show you what I can do next. She has climbed mountains, both figuratively and literally since that prognosis.
She has amazed me every single day of her 17 years. I know the next 17 years there will be moments that bring me to my knees, send a WTF I CANNOT DO THIS ANYMORE text to my village. And they will remind me that not only can I do this, but Bridget will also triumph over any obstacle PACS1 puts in her way.
Happy 17th birthday, my sweet Bridget. Thank you for choosing me to be your mom. Thank you for teaching me every day, that yes there are hard moments but there are so many moments of joy.
Even if we are climbing the mountain, you are always holding my hand.
(Un)Diagnosed and still okay 