Regular Parents vs. Special Needs Parents

I stole this from someone (thanks, Denise!) who in turn stole it from someone else, who probably stole it from someone else...well, you get the picture.  It was originally titled and labeled "Special Needs Moms" and ended with a bit of a nasty (but very amusing!) dig at the dads at the end, but I've changed it to "parents" and removed the last bit because of all of those amazing, devoted fathers of children with special needs, especially those stay-at-home dads, who don't often get the recognition they deserve (like my husband!).  For those of you that have kids with SN, does most of this sound pretty familiar?  For those of you that don't, let this be a gentle lesson in how things are for so many other parents out there.  :-)

Regular parents tell their kids to wake up and get dressed in the morning. And they do it.
Special needs parents put on battle gear to get our kids ready to start their day.

Regular parents ask their kids if they brushed their teeth.
Special needs parents prompt, "Brush your top teeth. Brush your bottom teeth. Did you get the sides? Open your mouth. My God, give me that toothbrush! You've left half your meal in there!"

Regular parents wave goodbye as their kids run off to catch the school bus.
Special needs parents get awesome door-to-door bus service for their child.

Regular parents know the names of all their friends.
Special needs parents know most of their friends by their username.

Regular parents judge other parents when kids have tantrums in stores.
Special needs parents say to themselves, "Hmm, I wonder which disability he has?" (omg, this is soooo true!!)

Regular parents complain about driving their kids to sports and recreation classes.
Special needs parents grin and bear the weekly trips to tutors, doctors and therapists.

Regular parents' kids have a teacher.
Special needs parents' kids have a team.

Regular parents talk about accomplishments.
Special needs parents talk about skills, as in play skills, conversation skills, life skills, social skills and vocational skills.

Regular parents relax with their kids during the summer.
Special needs parents start their second job as home teachers, therapists and skills coaches.

Regular parents think accommodations refer to hotels.
Special needs parents have memorized the top 20 accommodations for their child.

Regular parents hope their child finds a good career.
Special needs parents are hopeful someone gives our child the chance to work.
Regular parents (okay, "moms" definitely fits better here) soak in the tub when they want to unwind.
Special needs parents consider a bathroom break a luxury.

Regular parents enjoy reading the latest best selling book.
Special needs parents should receive an honorary degree for all the disability books they've read.

Regular parents go out for dinner and a movie with their spouses every month.
Special needs parents have a date night with their spouses every...wait, what decade is this?

Regular parents complain their kids won't eat their vegetables.
Special needs parents are so desperate we consider chicken nuggets to be a legitimate meat product and throw in ketchup as a vegetable.
Regular parents' kids go to play groups.
Special needs parents' kids go to therapy groups.

Regular parents meet for a ladies/guys night out.
Special needs parents get together at support groups and forums.

Regular parents have medical claim forms that fit in one file folder.
Special needs parents will tell you a small forest was cut down so we could receive our claims.

Regular parents think OT means overtime.
Special needs parents know more acronyms than a NASA engineer.

Regular parents have time to cook a full dinner every evening.
Special needs parents will never admit how many times we've picked up fast food.

(Okay, in case you were wondering about the line at the end that I removed, it said, "Regular moms complain that their husbands sit on the couch while they do all the work.  Special needs moms...well, how about that?  Some things do stay the same!")