Just Keep Swimming

As an autism mom, I'm grateful for the movie, "Finding Nemo."  Not only do I love it because my kids just recently discovered it and it takes their attention for a couple hours, but I found the Disney character I most relate with.  Her name is Dory!  Just like Dory, I forget what I'm doing every two seconds.  I might start claiming I have short-term memory loss, just to justify my forgetfulness.  Or maybe Dory also has ADD...which is very possible.  Just as Dory made unlikely friends with the Sharks, the whales, etc., I have found friends that I would never have gotten to know without the unforseen situations of being a military wife and being an autism mom.  I can learn from Nemo's daddy and Dory, when they found themselves in the scary situation of being in the midst of a bunch of jelly fish.  They turned that situation into a fun game which got them through.  That is something I can appreciate, making the best out of hard times, focusing on the positive.  Most of all, I'm grateful for the little nugget of wisdom and one of the best pieces of advice out there; Dory's famous line, "Just keep swimming!"

Addendum:  I don't know how I missed this lesson earlier.  Might be the most important one.  Nemo is a cute little special needs fish.  He only has one fin.  Because of this, his daddy holds him back in so many ways.  He thinks he is protecting him.  When they are separated, Nemo learns so many things that he can do because the fish in the tank believe in him.  Sometimes, as a parent, I set my expectations too low because of my childrens' disability, but I'm grateful for those tutors, friends, loved ones in their lives that help them exceed those expectations and succeed.