Real Kids, Real Joys
Elaine Dawson
Nerina Republic of South Africa
Esme Nel
Wolseley South Africa
Nan Vollette
Hampton VA USA
Beth Moscov
Boulder Creek CA USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 20 No. 5, September-October 2003, pp. 182
What new parent doesn't plan
to nurture their babies so completely that they will thrive and flourish
and be happy people? But then those perfect children turn into real
children. Life is not always "happily ever after," even in
supportive, loving families. Into any real life can come disability,
mental illness, rape, drug abuse, and teen pregnancy. And then the question
is, how will you deal with this in a way consistent with values you
have lived so far?
Gracefully moderating this
difficult discussion was Elaine Dawson of South Africa. She asked such
questions as, "How did we put our pride in our pocket and find
the resources we needed to cope?" And "How important is humor
in handling your situation?" The panel was generous with their
experiences and ideas, and the attendees responded by asking deep, revealing
questions and sharing their knowledge, experience, and hard-won humility.
While the topics of discussion couldn't have been more different from
a typical Series Meeting, many of the comments were familiar. One panelist
stated, "No matter what, you're never prepared. You have to learn
how to manage the system all over again, even if you're an expert."
Doesn't that sound similar to something you experienced in your baby's
life? The discussion reinforced how difficult it can be to create a
support system when you are completely overwhelmed and how important
it is to have a support system in place before you need it. The panelists
said that La Leche League friends were a primary source of support in
their times of family crisis. One attendee pointed out that La Leche
League has shown us how to grow a support group, so we can do that whenever
we need to. This potentially depressing session was truly affirming
of LLL values and full of hope. As Elaine Dawson summed it up, "Things
do right themselves."
Last updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:17 UTC 2007.
