I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

To begin with, I'd like to thank you for even following along on this crazy journey with us. It has, to date, been a true roller coaster. Extreme highs followed by some pretty low lows leading back to gratitude and contentment. But that is to be expected in any course of life, especially when it deals with ones child.

I want to explain the title of the blog a bit before I dive into anything else. It may seem self explanatory to some, but I want to share what it means to me. The Maya Angelou title, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' was assigned to me in my high school English literature class back in 10th grade. The poetic title has always stuck with me, more than any of the words from the pages. The title in itself was a beautiful lesson to my sophomoric self. I always interpreted it as a story of triumph in the face of what should have been heartache. And I've tried to carry that lesson with me through my adult life, and find my song through the bars of my life's cage.

This took on new meaning when I began to suspect Josie had autism. People view autism as a disorder that imprisons you. They view a sweet, happy, and social child, locked inside the bars of a disorder that causes them to have a flat, emotionless affect, making them incapable of showing love. People view autism as a burden, a heavy, crippling, burden. And while there may be grains of truth to that viewpoint, I am committed to applying the lesson I learned in 10th grade.

Our sweet girl may have challenges we cannot personally understand. And those challenges may cause us to live a different life that most. But there is still a song to sing. There is still music to find, and JOY to be had in this diagnosis. And everyday I'm pushing myself to look closely and find the JOY in this diagnosis instead of the ever apparent and easy to pick out challenges. Because everything good is worth working for. And one day, my sweet Josie bird will sing a beautiful and well deserving song, all on her own.