There is only now.
Today we celebrate our first collaborative post with the CEO of Kids Included Together, Torrie Dunlap.
A few weeks ago we were both lamenting the difficulties of creating an inclusive environment in our world and we both kept hearing the word “ready”…from The National Catholic Board on Full Inclusion’s side, the families are ready…sometimes the schools are understandably cautious and feel not quite ready. Torrie hears frequently from the other side, the groups that are beginning to consider how to embrace inclusion. They tell her the famous, “We’re not quite ready.”
Together, we talk about the idea of “being ready”.
Here is Torrie’s blog post:
https://www.kit.org/fallacy-ready-inclusion/
So grateful for the companions on this journey.
Torrie, thank you!
Kids Included Together, thank you!
Together, we are better…and we’re ready.
Here we go…
*****
Can we just start with a bold statement…really, set yourself up here…
WE ARE READY!!
Yes, ready for anything that comes our way.
I know we don’t wanna be.
Trust me, I’ve sat like a small child and wept with my unreadiness.
I’ve wailed: NO!!!! More times than I can count…
Said plenty of profanities…
But guess what?
Turns out I was ready…
*Not really, but I learned on the job.*
Yes, directly on the job…
As a teacher…
A teacher of teachers…
As a parent…
As a parent to a kid with an identified disability…
A parent to a kid with a life-threatening illness called leukemia (that sucked)
As a person with a broken ankle…
Not once did the universe ask me if I was ready.
Not once did I get the chance to hit the pause button…
Or the easy button for that matter…
I tried postponing my situation and…
It didn’t help.
Turns out, the universe said I was ready…and so I had to be.
So can we all just stop holding up some weird, arbitrary rule-book for telling schools when they are ready to let students with disabilities in through the door???
Please.
My kid didn’t have to earn his way into our family – proving his readiness – on the day he was born.
We just took a deep breath and figured it out.
Did we make mistakes?
Hell yes.
Many.
But we didn’t get to say, “Wow. Now that we know what we are having to deal with, it turns out, we can’t handle it.”
Nope.
We called it a day.
Went to bed.
Tried to sleep.
Got on our knees and prayed like crazy…
Tossed and turned.
And then woke up the next day to try again.
Here’s the secret:
WE ARE BORN READY.
We can handle this – whatever this is – why??
We have faith…and friends…and family…and Google.
And whatever we are dealing with…odds are likely that someone else has had to find a way too.
So stop holding the door closed:
On your heart…
On your dreams…
On the opportunities these kids need.
Dammit.
OPEN THE DOORS.
Find a way.
Ask for help.
Reach out.
Pray like crazy.
Take deep breaths.
Sing and dance –> because that always helps.
Search for beauty.
Live this moment right now.
You can do it.
You’re ready.
More than ready…
Besides, this kid needs you.
