I won.....

Life... we need to just live it...

I recently wrote a quick email that answered the question "What Makes ME Unique".  I wrote it quickly and with a smile in my fingers.  I wrote it never really thinking I would win.  But yes hoping that I actually would win because it is cool.

Then I put it all out of my mind. 

Today I got an email confirmation that I was selected!  I was giddy with glee.   Here is what my I wrote....

I'll be honest, I know nothing about parenting.  So imagine the surprise when on Mother's Day 2009 we were able to meet our son's birth mom, who was pregnant with him!  I had no clue how to parent a mixed race child with tight curly hair and I was terrified.  My heart expanded beyond my wildest imagination when we arrived at the hospital 20 minutes after he was born and they placed him in my arms.  I suddenly knew all I needed to know!

Fast forward to now... he is about to turn 6 and he is my greatest joy.  But I still know nothing about being a parent!  He is beautiful, talkative, charming, smart and athletic well beyond his years.  He is also diagnosed with "high functioning Autism", ADHD, ODD and SPD.  He amazes me.  He exhausts me.  He challenges everything I know about life!  But my story is not unique!  

What makes me the coolest mom ever is that I encourage getting messy, outside play, bike riding and discovering new and fantastic things.  We live loud and wild.  We struggle.  We practice.  We do hard and we have an incredible amount of fun.   The end of my day looks like a disaster every day because the house can wait to be cleaned... my son will never be at this moment again.  What makes me amazing is that I allow my child to be where he is and get where he needs to be in his own time.  It is the hardest thing I do ~ but for his sake and my sanity, it is absolutely the most important.   What makes me unique is that I openly and often brutally honestly talk about our experiences.  I share the journey and all the ups and downs.  What makes me fantastic is that my son is my world and the world needs to know my son!

What did I "win"...  a photo shoot for my family with an amazing photographer.  I have followed her for a long time because she is a huge proponent and advocate for the CHANGING THE FACE OF BEAUTY campaign.  She is amazing.  She works with clothing companies that promote people of all abilities and looks.  She has recently been on the Today Show, ABC News and others.  She boldly speaks out for treating people kindly.  She has a child with a special need and she gets it. 

So in the middle of some crazy fundraising campaign at the school, I want to live spontaneously and take my child off to this opportunity to have amazing photos taken for mother's day.  I want to do this because I am amazing! 

The catch.... We are going to go to Chicago!