Please excuse me while I vent for a moment.
I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say something about life not being fair for one reason or another. Maybe they didn’t get a good grade on a paper they worked so hard on. Or they didn’t get the job promotion they were hoping for. I’d say these are both acceptable reasons to say life is unfair.
But then you’ve got the brats who think life is unfair because mommy or daddy didn’t buy them a car for their 16th birthday. Or maybe they didn’t get something else they wanted. Some materialistic thing. This post is for them.
I am not going to call anybody out, because that’s not my style, but one of my friends made one of those “woe is me, life is so unfair” posts on Facebook that really kinda pissed me off. I’m not going to repeat what they said, because it doesn’t matter for the context of this blog post.
I’m sure they didn’t mean it the way I heard (or read) it. Maybe it’s just me being tired, cranky, and frustrated. Maybe it’s a bit of jealousy. I don’t know, but it really got to me. And to be fair, I know I have said “life isn’t fair” for stupid reasons too.
Having a disabled child like James changes your perspective on a lot of things. It makes you realize how much you take for granted. “Oh, you didn’t get that car you wanted? Well, at least you can drive. My son never will.” “You didn’t get into the college you wanted? At least you have the opportunity to go to college. My son probably never will.” I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.
So, the next time you hear somebody say life is unfair because of something stupid, have them talk to me. I will set them straight! My conversation with that person would go something like this: “If you really want to know how unfair life can be, let me introduce you to my son. He had a stroke before he was born. Because of that stroke he has many cognitive deficits. He has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and will probably confined to a wheelchair for his entire life. He is tube fed because he is unable to eat by mouth. He has hearing and vision issues. He was recently diagnosed with infantile spasms so there is a good chance he will have some sort of epilepsy as he gets older. He will probably need around the clock care for his entire life. How long his life will be is anyone’s guess. So please explain to me how your life is unfair. I’m listening.”
