My daughter, Leah sings and plays "Attitude Is Everything" which she wrote for performance with her ukelele.
Leah
In case you missed the first Attitude Is Everything post, I am pasting below so you don't have to scroll through previous posts.
AAAAttitude is
everything… la la la. The lyrics bounce around in my head- one of those
songs that gets stuck and can’t seem to escape from the mental chatter
of my mind. I guess this is a good sign. And, probably a healthy mantra
to get trapped within my neural synapses for awhile. I can always
benefit from the reminder.
I was watching the
video of my daughter Leah singing and playing at a local club. Much to
my surprise, she had written an “attitude” song for performance with
her newly acquired ukulele. As usual, I was dazzled by her stage
presence and talent as I watched and listened. It doesn’t seem that
long ago she was draped in layered costumes and beads singing Somewhere
Over the Rainbow on our brick fireplace. I was definitely feeling a
bit nostalgic.
February is almost
over and has been a month of milestone birthdays in our house. Time is
flying by faster than ever. Leah just turned twenty and her costume and
beads have been replaced by a classy hat and guitar. When Leah was
born, my plate was already full and overflowing. I was caring for Kyle,
who at that time, was besieged by seizures. I was trying to figure out
the autism thing and had just begun an intense home program for him
which required ongoing recruiting and training of a support team. I was
also mom to my daughter Rachel who was a typical, active two year old.
So maybe from a practical sense, it wasn’t the optimal time to add
another child to our family.
Thank goodness we decided not to be practical. As it turned out, this was absolutely
the best time for Leah, our precious blonde bundle, to come into our
lives. Leah added that extra dose of healthy balance on the other
side of living with autism. I’m reminded once again; siblings are such
a gift, offering a different experience of mother hood. Like her
sister, Leah was a flower who with care and nurturing, bloomed on her
own. There was no way autism was going to swallow me up now that there
were two amazing little girls to love and care for. Somehow it always
comes back to balance. Isn't this something we are all striving for in
one form or another?
I don’t know if I
ever got the balance thing just right. I’m still working on it. But
what a joy it has been to be mom to Leah. She amazes me with her depth
and creativity. I admire her confidence and have goose bumps as I
watch her bloom into a wonderful young woman. Her talents are many but
more importantly, she is extremely thoughtful, kind, and very wise for
her age.
Another kid to gush about? You bet.
Gayle
PS. Sometime very soon, you will be able to click here to listen to Leah's song “Attitude is Everything”. Stay tuned.
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