Inclusionforderrick

Someone said, “You love and accept Dee this much because he is a boy. If he were a girl, you probably wouldn't do as much for her.”

Honestly, that is not just untrue, it completely misses the heart of our story. A child is a child.
We didn't love Dee because he is a boy.
We didn't accept him because he is male.
We didn't choose to celebrate him because of his gender. We love him because he is our child.
If Dee had been a girl, she would receive the same love, the same protection, the same advocacy, the same celebration, the same opportunities and the same fierce determination from us.

The diagnosis would not have changed that.
The gender would not have changed that.
Nothing would have changed that. When God gives you a child, you don't receive a product you inspect and decide whether it meets your expectations. You receive a life. A precious human being. A gift. And every child deserves to be loved, protected, nurtured, celebrated and given the opportunity to become all they were created to be.

So please, let's stop attaching the love parents show their children to gender. A child is not more deserving of love because they are a boy.
A girl is not less deserving because she is a girl.
A child with a disability is not less deserving because their journey may look different.

Dee is deeply loved, not because he is a boy, but because he is Dee. And if God had given us a daughter instead, we'd be standing just as fiercely beside her. Children are gifts from God.
And every gift deserves to be cherished. ❤️

Sometimes, I look at the picture of us and I realize just how far we have come. ❤️ This is more than just a picture of a mother and her son. It is a picture of strength. A picture of love.
A picture of grace. A picture of a journey that did not go exactly as we planned, but somehow became more beautiful than we imagined.

Derrick, you came into my life and taught me that a diagnosis is just a name. It does not define your worth, your future, or the beautiful things you can become. I remember the words that were spoken about you. The predictions. The limitations. The things people said you would never do. But look at you today. ❤️ Growing. Learning. Exploring. Smiling. Trying. Thriving.

And look at me too.

Still standing. Still learning. Still advocating. Still choosing to see possibility where others once saw limitations. I don't need you to prove anything to the world, my son. You don't have to race anyone. You don't have to meet anybody's timeline. You have more than enough time to grow, learn and become everything you are meant to be.

My job is simply to love you, support you, give you opportunities, celebrate your little wins and remind you every day that you belong. Derrick, you are not my burden. You are not my punishment. You are not a mistake. You are my son. My warrior prince. My sonshine. ❤️
And I will keep showing up for you, not because I am trying to prove a point, but because you deserve to be seen, loved, included and celebrated.

One day, when I look back at these pictures, I hope I remember not only how far you came, but how much joy you brought into my life along the way.

Different is not less. Diagnosis is just a name.
And this journey? We are living it with love. ❤️