Once upon a time, a guy and a girl fell in love. They got married, and became a husband and wife. They had babies, and became a mom and dad. They had jobs and a minivan and a cute little house with a big oak tree in the backyard. And they dreamed of the day they'd finish their dream home in the country. They lived a ridiculously normal life.
Then one day, everything changed. A doctor told the mom and dad something was wrong with their son. He had autism. He said their son would need 40 hours per week of therapy if they ever hoped he could someday live on his own, or have a job, or a family. Therapy that would cost thousands of dollars a month. Therapy that their insurance company would not cover. He wished the mom and dad luck, and sent them out the door with a few brochures and two broken hearts.
Wanting the very best for her son, the mom quit her job, enrolled their son in therapy, and began to drive back and forth to the big city everyday. Their home construction loan turned into a therapy loan, and one day, while in the big city, the mom realized that she was going to have to figure out a way to repay it. So she enrolled herself in college.
Eventually, the mom's college classes became more intense and demanding, so the dad, wanting the very best for his son, quit his job. He found a job in the big city, just down the road from his son's therapy center, and began to make the drive with his son every day. Other people said, "Why do you drive so far every day? You need to move to the big city." But they couldn't leave their family and friends that loved their son so much back home. And on days that they couldn't make the trip to the big city for their son's therapy, they had friends, and cousins, and aunts, and grandparents that made the trip for them. They were very blessed.
When the mom finished college she searched for a job who's insurance would cover the expensive therapy. After months of searching, the mom found a job in the big city that she loved, but the insurance would not cover her son's therapy. Facing mounds of therapy bills, the mom and dad made the hard decision to stop taking their son to therapy in the big city. They enrolled him in school.
When their son started school, he started getting picked up by a special school bus. They did not have to drive to the big city anymore. So the dad, wanting the very best for his son, once again quit his job, so he could work closer to home and be there to send their son to school every morning.
Their son came to love school and his teachers. At school, he learned to write his name, and count, and recognize colors. He learned songs, and how to ask for chocolate milk. He amazed his mom and dad with all of the new things he was learning and doing. They were very blessed.
But the mom and dad knew that even though their son had shown how amazing and smart he was, the doctor was right. If he couldn't overcome his autistic behaviors, he may never live on his own, or have a job or a family. Even if he could write his name and ask for chocolate milk, he couldn't answer questions, or sit in a restaurant, or follow a simple direction without screaming.
He needed to be in therapy.
So the mom and dad searched, and hoped, and prayed, for a long time, for an answer. And as had happened so many times before, their prayers were answered.
The mom, who loved her job in the big city so much, got an unexpected job offer back home. Hoping and praying, and wanting the very best for her son, she called the insurance company and inquired about benefits. When the insurance company told them that they would cover their son's autism therapy, once again, they knew they were very blessed.
So today, because she wants the very best for her son, the mom will finish her last shift at the job she loves in the big city, and next week, she will start the new job with amazing benefits close to home. She is sad to say goodbye to her first dream job, and her coworkers, who became friends, who became family.
She knows that change is hard. But she knows that they know, this change will change her son's life.
She is very blessed.
