Playing Whac-a-Mole

The daily grind of life as a special needs parent often feels like a game of Whac-a-Mole. Have you played that arcade game? Equipped with one huge padded hammer, the player attempts to hit small mechanical moles that pop out of their holes. Only one mole can be up at a time, but as soon as you hit one down, another pops up. The faster you hit them, the more there are to hit. Hit the most moles in the allotted time, and you are the winner. Free stuffed tiger to the lady in blue!

For those of you who’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. Just as we finish addressing one issue, another comes up. Some neurology crisis arises…whack!…then it’s time for IEP negotiations…whack!…cajole our way to a new bus driver…whack!…and it’s time for another surgery…whack!…and the game goes on and on and on.

This past week we saw a new specialist in a branch of medicine we haven’t encountered before. It’s been on my to-do list but we just had so many other pressing challenges to deal with — failure to thrive, regression at school and the death of my dad to name but three. Not trying to sound like a Drama Mama, but I’m just sayin’: this particular specialist didn’t even make it out of our doctor’s recommendations and onto our calendar for five years.

So this week, as we waited in the exam room for the doc to arrive while my son ripped his collection of outdated periodicals to shreds, I reflected on how I’m just whacking away…but kind of grateful that our situation has changed enough that I could even contemplate sitting in this particular office at all.  Another tiny wave of gratitude arose when it hit me that some things can wait. Everyone isn’t so lucky. What happens when all the moles pop up at the same time? One only has one mallet.

Of course, seeing the specialist this week (whack!) led to another referral and another specialist. More whacks to come. But I’m aiming to win that giant panda hanging up at the rafters and I can do this for a long time.