LOVE IS...
Love is...
cradling a young child in your arms as he bites,
kicks, scratches, and struggles to break free.
Love is...
quietly replacing window number six...
knowing that number seven will follow soon.
Love stays calm when the neighbor yells...
and tells her that her child just isn't normal.
Love is...
stripping a bedroom of broken furniture, torn curtains,
and crumpled mini-blinds... for the third time.
Love is...
rearranging the furniture to cover the holes in the walls
when you're just too tired to repair them anymore.
Love consoles him when he's lying in bed crying for his mommy...
and she knows that it's not her that he's longing for.
Love is...
quickly finding help when your child lies down behind the wheels of a car and talks of wanting to be dead.
Love is...
looking into his eyes and knowing that today
just isn't a good day for him to leave home.
Love continues to take him to professionals that have no idea how to help... in hopes that someday someone will help.
Love is...
sitting at home waiting for the school to call and tell you there's another problem.
Love is...
watching him draw pictures of "the baby" lying in the crib
with huge monster arms wrapped around it.
Love is always trying to convince him that it wasn't his fault that they hurt him.
Love is...
trying desperately to rebuild his confidence
as he speaks of other children calling him a loser.
Love is...
ignoring those who stare as he tantrums,
and those who laugh as you carry him cursing all the way to the car.
Love drives home with blood dripping down her arm...
and cries with him... as he apologizes for what he has just done.
Love is...
trying every available medication
in hopes of finding some miracle to make things easier for him.
Love is...
reassuring him that he has everything to live for
as you remove the plastic bag from his head.
Love knows that there are no obstacles in life
that love itself cannot conquer over time.
Love is...
knowing when it's time to pull him away
from the educators that refuse to be educated.
Love is... accepting that love isn't always going to be easy.
Love continues to stand tall, and be strong for him
when he has fallen down.
Love is...
proudly watching him grow into a beautiful young boy.
Love is...
continuing to believe that he is truly special
and that you have been truly blessed.
Love keeps on loving no matter what...
and keeps on trying when all others have long since given up.
I am love...
he is loved...
and we will never be the same.
Copyright © 2001 Suzanne
