He already knew how to tie his shoes when he held them on his lap. He was struggling to tie them when they were on his feet.

My situation wasn’t all that different from his.

I had used Blackboard to design the college class I was about teach for the first time ever. But I was struggling with the platform while interacting with students and grading their work.

I stared at the computer screen, baffled by all the buttons, wondering which one to click. “I can’t do this by myself!” I thought.

That’s the moment when I remembered my grandson uttering those words as he stared at the untied shoe on his foot. “Grammy, I can’t do this by myself.”

“I’m right here,” I assured him as we sat together on the couch. “I’ll stay right here until you’ve got it down pat.”

A few minutes later, he was off, eager to show he parents how he could put his shoes on and tie them all by himself.

I stared at the computer screen unsure. Scared to fail. Unwilling to click one of the many buttons before me. My immobility was similar to what I sometimes experienced while raising a child with special needs, when every day brought a new obstacle.

A new setback.
A new illness.
A new search for resources and doctors.
A new solution for our child’s medical condition.

To read the rest of I Can’t Do This By Myself, visit Key Minstry’s blog for special needs parents.

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