One and a half weeks ago I put out a call for comments over at What Do You Like About Your AD/HD Kid?. It was my intention to collate all the loving anecdotes I received into a comprehensive article on the benefits of having AD/HD children. To this date, not one parent has replied. Not even my Mum.
Of course, I already knew she didn't like me. What I didn't realize was that AD/HD kids were globally loathed, despised, and detested by other parents. This has come as quite a shock. I assumed somewhere a loving, benevolent Cliff Huxtable-like father smiled patiently upon his sweet, little, whirling dervish as a gift from God. Now I know better.
Fortunately for my article's sake, I have an AD/HD child. She hasn't been officially diagnosed, but you know what they say about ducks. Let me show you folks how this is done.
Dang. This is harder than it looks. This is going to be one short article...
Thirteen Things I Love About My AD/HD Daughter
- Her delightfully wild imagination. She currently expresses herself through art, role play, and book making. She is a joy to watch at play.
- Her highly developed sense of humor and infectious laughter. She got this joke and laughed for hours over it. I sometimes forget she's only eight years old.
- Her entertaining spontaneity - especially her varied and animated facial expressions.
- I get a kick out of how her mouth forms words faster than her brain and how that leads to very funny statements, especially when she makes up words or gets sayings jumbled up. I still use a word she invented when she was five to express disappointment. "Oh, crubbage!"
- I yearn for her boundless energy. I could use some hyperactivity in my world right now.
- I love how feisty and confident she can be.
- I admire her physical prowess and coordination. Although coordination is not something all AD/HD people in general have, some do as is the case with my daughter and two of my brothers. Coupled with boundless energy and their fighting spirit they are fearsome athletes. My daughter's specialty is Irish Step Dancing. My daughter closely resembles my brother, Ryan, in this regard and helps me feel as if he is still with us.
- She's very trusting so I love teasing her. I never grow tired of it. She's gets so mad - her whole face explodes.
- She's very competitive so it doesn't take long after I've teased her before she's trying to get even. Give her a few years and I'll definitely have something to worry about.
- One aspect of L's AD/HD that I really like is her intelligence. Although this aspect can become lost amidst her more toxic and negative behaviors, her expansive vocabulary for her age and quick wit truly display her fantastic potential.
- Her incredible likability. Oh, how I envy this little talent of hers. She's so sure of herself and empathic to others that she makes fast friends wherever she goes. She's far too intense to sit in the background long. If it weren't for her compassionate nature I would worry that I have a Queen Bee in the making.
- Her admiration of me. I realize all my daughters thought the world of me when they were younger (and still do, knock on wood) but there is something different in the way L looks up to me. It's more intense - that AD/HD intensity no doubt - and most likely born of the fact we are kindred spirits. I understand her difficulties and that has created an amazing bond between us.
- Lastly, I really enjoy her sense of wonder. This quality makes her very much like myself and gives me a kindred spirit in our home. She is delighted by the same things I am from cereal box prizes and electronic gadgets to the subtle change of hues in the sky. She loves going hiking in the mountains with me, finding all the flora and fauna just as fascinating as I do. Although all my daughters find my world fascinating, it is through L that I can best see the world through her eyes as I would see it.
Now, that wasn't so hard to do. Please take a few moments and list a few qualities you enjoy about your AD/HD child. There don't have to be thirteen of them. I realize you don't like your children THAT much. Leave comments here or over at What Do You Like About Your AD/HD Kid?. Thanks for reading.
If you blog, please tell me thirteen things about yourself and link it here. Oh, and try to refrain from linking here if you don't have a Thursday Thirteen post. I'll just end up removing your link.
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