The journey that Ali and I have experienced as first time parents of James Michael is unlike anything I could have ever imagined beforehand. It has truly taken us into uncharted waters. In an attempt to summarize many of the reoccurring experiences, I can highlight three kinds of moments so far in the journey with James Michael: At the beginning, there were many moments of fear, grief, confusion and anxiety that leaves you with the experience of crying out for help but your voice seems but a whisper in a storm. There have also been many moments along the journey where hope, trust, and a tangible sense of the immense blessing of family and friends stretches and covers your fears for a time and tells you that “you are deeply loved”. Finally, a third category of moments exists (which is by far the majority of time) where it requires a summouning of patience and an ability to wait and see as the slow pace of time advances as James “tells his own story” of what it is like to live with cerebral palsy.
I (Mike, James’ dad) have been meaning on writing this blog for quite some time now so that it can be a place for our family and friends to “journey with us”, and so that it can also become a record for James to access as he grows.
Thank you for taking the time to follow along with James. I hope that you find this blog to be a place where you can enter into the world of James Michael, and Alison and I as parents, experience the ups, downs and plateaus that are a part of his life, and gain a ever increasing appreciation for how amazing the journey of life is.
* Compliments to Rebecca Fortin for the homepage photo of James
