Finding Joy: Choosing to Laugh Through the Chaos

I was speaking with a friend the other day about parenting and the additional demands of parenting children with high support needs. I was talking about the burnout and the stress that parents can face when navigating a world that wasn't built for their children.

They asked me how parents are able to navigate the stress and what keeps them going. I started thinking about some of the moments in our parenting journey that brought us joy and laughter.

My mind immediately started processing all of the amazing, and often hilarious, moments that parenting my children has given me. My mother used to tell me all the time that I should write all of the stories down and write a book one day.

When my daughter was younger, she announced one afternoon that she wanted to play mermaids. I was in the kitchen, prepping food and assumed she had toddled off to her room to engage in her make-believe world. A few minutes later, I went to check in on her, and as I was walking to her room, I noticed water coming out from under the bathroom door. In that moment, it all clicked for me. I opened the bathroom door, and every faucet was turned on, and she was slipping and sliding on the floor, pretending to be a mermaid in the water.

She was having the time of her life, and I couldn't even get mad, as she had given me a heads-up of what was about to happen; I just hadn't clued in.

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Ah, and who could forget the summer when our daughter insisted on wearing a cat costume everywhere she went? Inside restaurants, on a road trip, going to the park, this girl was in her costume. I dreaded having to take her to the bathroom that summer, as it required a full outfit removal before I even hit her clothes. But I admired her dedication. We had to sneak the costume out of her room at night to clean it. And you can bet that she tried to sleep in it.

Regardless of whether it was 30 degrees outside, she wore the full outfit, including the headpiece, every single day.

And then there was the time we decided to travel as a family to Italy for two weeks in the summer. When I had booked the flights, I hadn't taken notice of the short window of time on our return trip. We left Italy to land in Chicago at O'Hare Airport and had a 50-minute layover before flying to Vancouver. I had wrongly assumed that the gates would be close by and hadn't dreamt that we would need to get our bags, clear customs, take a train to the next terminal, go through security, and then go to the end of the terminal to board the next flight.

You know the scene from Home Alone, where the family is racing through the O'Hare Airport to get to their gate in time? That was us. Kyle carried our daughter, I took most of the bags, and our oldest son ran ahead of all of us, frantically trying to get to the gate in time. We had already spent a night in Chicago on our way down to Italy due to a delay, so we were determined not to have to do that again. We made it, just as they were shutting the doors. Luckily, we arrived home with all of our kids and bags, exhausted, but we made it.

Now whenever we talk about Italy, we mention the pizza, driving on the windy roads, staying at a gorgeous oceanside villa, and our Home Alone experience in the Chicago Airport.

My experience as a parent hasn't always been filled with fun and games. Most of the time, I feel overwhelmed, and it seems like we're just getting by. However, my husband and I have chosen to embrace the joy amidst the chaos. Sometimes, you simply have to laugh to keep from crying.

I hope that some of this resonates with you, and if you ever need someone to connect with, I love speaking with parents about this journey. Please don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I am always happy to support and direct you to someone who can help your family. You can find me at This World's Ours Centre in Vancouver.

Take care,

Koryn