To our daughter Savannah.
Today the world celebrates Autism Awareness Day.
We don’t need a day to celebrate you. As an autistic person you have taught us so much about Love and Respect.
You have challenged our way of thinking and being. You have taught us to let go of what is unnecessary in life and fight like crazy for what is worth living for. Family!
As the world celebrates Autism Awareness, we celebrate our journey with you. We are bound to each others fate in a way only few other parents in this world are bound to their children. Sometimes that’s hard for me, and I know it is hard for you too.
We’ve come so far though, and we’ve survived being judged, lonely, sad, other people’s ignorance and so many of life’s set backs.
We are braver than we knew we could be. We are more resilient. Mostly we are kinder, more gentle and much more appreciative of life because of the journey that you are on.
I hope we make you proud because you make us proud to be your family everyday. Your dad and I love you more than all the sand in the ocean and all the stars in the sky. It hurts when we find that sometimes it is not enough to protect you and ourselves from the harshness of the world we live in.
So let us hope as the World turns its attention to Autism, they will make real changes that truly impact your life in a way that is meaningful to you.
Wherever we go to from here, please remember this:
I Do Not Cry For Who You Are
by (author unknown)
Tears have stopped falling
On the fragments of my dreams,
I no longer mourn illusions
Of yesterday’s reality.
Tears that fell so often,
Almost every day,
But that was when the rain poured down,
And the sky was always gray.
Now I feel the sunshine,
And the sky is blue again,
I’m living on a rainbow,
but I still cry now and then.
I do not cry for who you are
Nor what will never be
My pain’s in the confusion
And the vulnerability
My frustration’s with a society,
That cannot see you’re mine,
My anger’s to the ignorance,
That will never try.
My fear is from uncertainty
That increases over time.
My guilt is deep inside my soul,
Each time they make me cry.
I do not cry for who you are
Nor what can never be
I cry because they look at you
But never really see
They don’t see how the differences,
Could make the world complete,
They can’t all live on rainbows,
It’s just not meant to be.
You are not responsible,
For all that we’ve been through,
I would not change you for the world,
I would change the world for you.
All our love
Mum and dad x
By Desirae and Michael Pillay (non autistic parents to Savannah Pillay, an autistic young adult)
