Disability Blog Carnival: The Hardest Part

A diamond is the ultimate gemstone, having few weaknesses and many strengths. Formed under pressure, the diamond is the hardest substance found in nature. There is nothing on earth that is stronger, more durable and enduring than diamonds. An uncut diamond represents the untapped potential that lies in all of us.

The theme for the 35th Disability Blog Carnival is "The Hardest Part" and was chosen by my readers. The posts get beneath the merely superficial and into the "real"...the core of what we experience as people with disabilities and people who parent children with special needs. Put on your hardhat and goggles and delve in...what you discover may be of great value.

The hardest part for some is the pain they experience or watch their child experience. Onegirlfriday writes in her post A Jewel "As a family, we grapple for balance. And the core gets stronger. All the resistance training produces strength." At Barbara's Tchatzkahs she writes about the crippling pain of fibromyalgia and how dealing with some in the medical community can be almost as painful.

Oftentimes the hardest part is not disability...but stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination that come as a result of ignorance and arrogance. It takes strength and courage to combat this. Lovely and Amazing posts about an arrogant university professor and Amy posts about discrimination at her school and how she stood up and made a difference.

An interesting and infuriating post at Big Noise is entitled: Acupuncture Board: Blind Need Not Apply a story about Juliana Cumbo and her fight to become a licensed acupuncturist in the state of Texas. Fight on Juliana! We're with you. Sweet Perdition writes about the prejudice that people with different types of disabilities inflict on someone with another type in her thought-provoking post Hard Parts.

Dave Hingsburger wrote about a man protective of his wife at Smitty's, "...when I glanced over I met his hard, hard eyes. He was a frail old guy and he looked like an old guard dog that was ready to do one more battle if he needed to. I just smiled at him, he didn't smile back. He just slid along the booth closer to her. A statement that she was his, he loved her, and I had better watch myself." If this guy is not a diamond in the rough I don't know who is. Dave also has some excellent advice for parents "having an intellectual disability means having difficulty with learning, it doesn't mean that they won't grow up, they won't get jobs, they won't get married. It means that they will find some things hard that others find easy." Can I just say, AMEN?

For parents one of the hardest parts is letting go which Rob writes about in his post Letting Go and Catching Up. There is also the irritation of dealing with flaky therapists of which Rebecca writes, "It's hard enough for a parent to acknowledge that his/her child needs professional assistance. Harder yet when professional assistance isn't at all professional."

As a parent myself, I can relate to feeling helpless at times when I don't know how to best support my son. I really liked the posts on the heartbreak we sometimes experience in parenting. Mir writes The sounds only he can hear and I feel I was there on the soccer field. At Friday Playdate, Susan writes what it's like "The hardest thing for me about parenting Henry has been the sense that every time I get my feet under me, the ground moves again and I am left struggling to get my balance. My only hope, honestly, is that Henry will look back one day and realize that even when I had no idea what the hell I was doing, I was still right there, trying to do something. Or just loving him for who he is."

Lack of privacy, social identity, honesty, trust and vulnerability can also be hard issues written about in these posts:
Terrible Palsy: The Hardest Part
The Hardest Part...of being who we are
Abnormaldiversity: Social Identity
The Hardest Part of Epilepsy
Women with Disabilities and Domestic Violence

Loneliness, depression and just plain feeling different can also be hard parts which can accompany the human experience. Emma shares her thoughts, "...right at this moment being stopped by my depression - that’s the hardest part." Myveryownkarma writes Differences... For Ekie, the hardest part is the lonliness she experiences, "It’s such a simple thing. I’m not asking for riches or world peace, or even a boyfriend...I just want somebody to be able to call up on a Saturday night to watch a movie with, go on a hike, go swimming with in summer, to tell about my cousin’s new baby or the book I’m reading."

I hope in your reading you have found some diamonds or nuggets of value. To finish this carnival I will leave you with the following quote from Sunny Dreamer in her post about being a strong woman, "...being strong means standing firm, being your own rock when it seems no one is there for you to lean on in the face of adversity."