Why We Parent

Truth be told, it’s been a hard fall with Olie. A series of specialist have diagnosed him as having anything from ADHD to sensory integration disorders (no time to go into that). The good news is that after an NYU sponsored parent training study on my part and lots of occupational therapy on his, he’s much better. But it’s been exhausting for both of us.

On a recent break in San Fran to be with girl friends, I got a message from Chad just before bed. “Just wanted to relate a conversation that I had with Olie today,” he said. “I was talking to him about his friends and told him that it was good he had so many. ‘Why?’ Olie asked. ‘Because,’ I said, ‘you learn different things from different people. Like, you learn about birds from Gramma Birds.’ And then I listed several more people and what Oliver learns from each. Finally I asked him, ‘what do you learn from Mama?’ He didn’t even hesitate. ‘Love,’ he answered.”