The Survival Kit: Tools to Get Us Through: PART 1

knees
Originally uploaded by t-squared

“Where are the band-aids?!”

The scream brings me out of the manuscript I’m reading and for a moment I’m caught in a rush of thoughts, first and foremost being, “Which of the five kids just screamed?”

This hasn’t even formulated before I’m on my feet and en route with the surety of a mother’s inborn GPS that has already pinpointed precisely where the sobs are coming from.

A quick look reveals nothing serious but the skinned knee isn’t regular, “stand in the box like soldiers ready to do battle against dirt and germs” bandages…this is the gauze pad and tape variety, which is what prompted the cry in the first place. The spilled box of adhesives strips on counter and floor are mute testimony to the child’s attempt to find the right thing alone.

Like my daughter’s fruitless search for the answers that required mom to come through and point her in the right direction, so too do survivors sometimes find themselves adrift. How many times have we taken that thing that has reared it’s head in our lives and looked it with that puzzled consternation usually followed by a voice heavy laden with frustration, “What am I supposed to do with YOU?”

For us it was the oldest and his diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome. The internet gave information aplenty, but some of it was conflicting and most of it was, well, downright confusing.

This week in my blogs I’m going to look at how the right tools makes all the difference. The question is, how do you know which tool is the one you need for the job? When you’re facing a huge life challenge such as an illness or a special needs child you’ll quickly find that not every authority is weighted the same.

So where do you go? How do you find the tools you need? Join me this week and we’ll talk about it. Yep, this is a two-way street. Leave a comment and let’s get the ball rolling.

Where do you begin when life hands you a challenge?