This is how I do it

"How do you do it?" people ask.
Which always gives me pause
because while I often feel
like I am barely keeping up with life
and there are days
when even taking a deep breath
feels like a luxury,
there is no question:
I do whatever I can
for my child—
just like any mom.
I have no exceptional mom abilities,
no particular mom tricks.
Well, actually, my trick is that
I try to feel content
with "whatever I can."
Even if I cannot do
every single therapy exercise
or every thing the teacher suggests
or look into every educational toy
or upload new photos onto the iPad every weekend
or etc. etc. etc.
Even if I ignore things
like the drooling that isn't getting better

or the seizures that are still a possibility.
Even if there are weekends
when we watch entirely too much TV
or there are times
when I really
just want to be alone.
This is how I do it: I sometimes don't do it.
And I've learned to be OK with that.