Last night I had an odd experience. We were (just like many of you) watching election night news coverage when a commercial came on. And I was absolutely transfixed. It was not flashy, and until the end, I had no idea what it was for. It depicted a mother with her child, who looked to be about 3 or 4. Over the course of the 30 seconds or minute, it was clear that though this child looked mostly normal, he had developmental issues. The only part of the voice-over I caught was her talking about him being in the NICU. It showed them going about their day, and in this tiny glimpse into their life I saw myself and Micah. It beautifully portrayed the joy and pain of having a child with special needs. From age-typical cuddles, and reading and playing to the frustration of having your child do something that most children much younger know not to do, like pour their drink out onto the table.
So much energy and attention goes into being Micah's parents; he still requires a lot of guidance and supervision at an age when many children are becoming pretty independent. Sometimes I don't even realize how much focus and energy it takes to be needed every minute until my tank runs dry. And I know that parenting any child takes a lot of energy, but I saw the look on that mom's face in the commercial as she held her board-stiff, screaming child under her arms while she tried to wash his hair in the sink and then tried to brush his teeth, and it was my face during yet another battle over something that seems like it should be simple by now.
I have been thinking about this commercial ever since, so this morning I decided to look it up. It is for MassMutual, and stars an actress and her son. But this was not acting; this is their life. The camera apparently just followed them around for a period of time, filming life as they live it. I appreciated how it didn't sensationalize the difficulties her son faces, showing the many ways he is just a typical kid, while at the same time not glossing over the challenges that parents of special needs children face. If you'd like to see this spot, you can find it here.
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Melissa, I immediately knew what commercial you were talking about. It really affected me as well. Having a kid who was in the nicu for three weeks at birth, and who has ongoing challenges, surgeries, hospitalizations and special needs...our emotional and physical tanks often run dry as mamas to these amazing beings. It was beautifully portrayed in that ad, and while my challenges with Noah are different on a day to day basis, the life sucking, yet live giving energy it takes to keep going is something that I can never put into words. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe that there is so much understanding of what it is like in a commercial! I'm sure there is some person behind this with the understanding and then the communication skills to do this. I'm also intrigued by the note that they have programs for families with special needs children.
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