Vacation…from therapy too!

By Taryn

Maybe it sounds so simple, but it’s not. Last week our family took a vacation, and not only did we not do any therapies, but I didn’t even think about therapy. Not once.

And it felt great.

For seven days, Rhea was just a kid. No play therapy, no exercise balls, no oral stretches. Just fun.

Again, maybe it sounds simple, but for almost 17 months we have had anywhere between 2-4 therapies a week, in addition to other appointments. Only until we took a week off did I truly feel how busy that’s been.

As I’ve been thinking this week, I need to incorporate that into our lives more. A full break. We’ve had weeks off of certain therapies, but never all. I’ve felt bad when I’ve cancelled an appointment for any reason, because I’ve convinced myself that her development is completely dependent on sticking to the routine. But is that true? Hard no. I know that taking a week off will have probably very little impact to her milestones, yet there is SO much to be gained from taking those breaks.

I was a mom for 8 years before Rhea was born, to three neurotypical children. For eight years I had kids who just basically did things - sitting, crawling, walking, talking. It was something I took for granted for sure. And while Rhea’s milestones have come with such a sweet feeling of joy, they came with a lot of hard work on her part (and mine too!). I wouldn’t trade a single moment, but some days it’s hard thinking of how hard she has to work to do things that came so easily for her sisters. Having a week off to just put that part of our life to the side felt so nice, and we loved our time just enjoying each other!

I’ve let my guilt go and decided that once every few months, we’re taking a therapy break, whether we are on vacation or not! Rhea deserves to just be a kid for a little bit and she will be FINE. We both deserve some time to just be a typical mama and daughter for a bit. 💜