For those of you who are short on smiles today, here’s post to raise your spirits.

Because I Said So with Dawn Meehan

You have got to check out Dawn Meehan’s mama blog, Because I Said So. Dawn’s six kids are pretty much typical, so you might be wondering why she gets a mention on a special needs blog. Here’s why.

She’s funny.
Really funny.
Wet-your-pants funny.

And she’s that funny even though she’s raising six kids on her own and constantly wondering how to make ends meet.

You Gotta Keep Your Sense of Humor

Maybe you think I’m being irreverent by encouraging you read something funny, to laugh in the face of special needs. After all your life is full of serious stuff – IEP meetings, stress, dismal doctor visits, stress, deteriorating health, stress, dashed hopes, stress, mounting medical bills – and did I mention stress?

What’s to laugh about?
Why bother?
Because without laughter, you won’t make it.

I’m speaking from personal experience here. After all, I grew up watching my dad’s health deteriorate due to multiple sclerosis. First, he couldn’t walk. Then, he couldn’t write. Next, he couldn’t read, followed by no bladder control, no bowel control. Then he couldn’t feed himself. Eventually, he couldn’t remember my name. One day he couldn’t talk anymore. He was having trouble swallowing a few weeks before he died.

But he could always laugh.
He smiled throughout my last visit to see him in the nursing home.
He kept his sense of humor to the very end.
It was his greatest legacy to our family.

Make Humor Your Legacy, Too

Humor can be your legacy, too. But caring for someone with special needs can make it hard to pass on a smile, much less a belly laugh. And that’s where Dawn Meehan comes in. When you can’t smile, let her smile for you. When you don’t have anything to laugh about, she’ll find something.

Still not convinced to check out Because I Said So?

Then, do it because my dad smiled for 38 years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Do it because I’m the mom of a kid who had special needs.
Do it because I said so!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.