“Mommy, Thank You for Staying”: Seeing the Light the World Almost Missed

When I first found out he was coming, time stopped for a few seconds.

There were tests.
Difficult words.
Worried looks and sentences that started with “I’m sorry.”

What no one talked about was what only I would see up close.

The quiet sparkle in his eyes.
Those tiny hands reaching for me in the dark.
The unique little smile he gives every time he hears my voice.

That part didn’t show up on any chart.

Today, as he stands on this simple dirt path — beige outfit dusted by the day, hair sticking up in the breeze — I find myself thinking one thing:

How could anyone be afraid of someone so full of light?

They say he has a condition.
I say he has a gift.

The gift of slowing the world down.
The gift of reminding me what truly matters.
The gift of filling our home with simple, honest laughter that doesn’t ask for perfection.

He doesn’t know how to read yet.
But his heart writes me a love letter every single day.

In every tight hug.
In every glance that searches for me across a room.
In every little crooked smile that seems to say,

“Mommy, thank you for staying.”

And I stay.

I stay for him.
For us.
For every mother who has heard more fear than hope spoken over her child.

If you were ever told that life with a special child is only hard, look at this little face again.

Mommy says he’s a little miracle.

And deep down, what I really want…
is for the whole world to see it too. 🤍