D is for DREAM

DREAM

DREAM big, DREAM small.

It doesn't matter, just DREAM them all.

Your eyes smile as you talk your special talk,

and I know your DREAM will one day walk.

While your Mind is Gifted, 

no one knows if it can ever be shifted.

Please always know there are Hearts that Love you.

My DREAM for you no matter big or small,

is that your DREAM comes true.

C is for COURAGEOUS

I recently asked my oldest son what he thought COURAGEOUS meant, this was his response, "Being full of COURAGE."  Knowing that I wanted more he said, "If I were to explain it to my younger brother I would explain it by actions and jump into a pool of sharks."

This was not completely what I was looking for but it gives you an idea of how a Gifted Mind works.  Fundamentally speaking, lead/teach by example.  Be COURAGEOUS, and jump into your own pool of sharks.  You never know what your Loving Heart will learn or what you will teach a Gifted Mind.

COURAGE comes in many forms and is used in many ways.  It takes COURAGE to be a parent of any child.

B is for BELIEF

    For many people, BELIEF is a central (if not the central) idea for their family.  It is the core foundation in how the family operates and functions.  This is so true in our family.  What is BELIEF and how does it apply to a Gifted Mind?

    The dictionary defines it as such:

be·lief

noun\bə-ˈlēf\

     : a feeling of being sure that someone or something exists or that something is true

    : a feeling that something is good, right, or valuable

      : a feeling of trust in the worth or ability of someone

    It doesn't matter if you are a religious person or if you just have a loving family, BELIEF should be something of a fundamental lesson for our children, especially a Gifted Mind.  Our children have to see that we as Loving Hearts have a BELIEF in all that we do.

    Our BELIEF can be as simple as just believing in our children.  BELIEF is BELIEF.

A is for Appreciation

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines APPRECIATION as this:

ap·pre·ci·a·tion

 noun \ə-ˌprē-shē-ˈā-shən, -ˌpri- also -ˌprē-sē-\

: a feeling of being grateful for something

: an ability to understand the worth, quality, or importance of something : an ability to appreciate something

: full awareness or understanding of something

    I would like to focus on the second definition and how it pertains to my oldest Gifted Minded son.

    As I have stated in my previous post, I have three boys with the oldest being 12 and the youngest only 3 months.  My oldest is really the only one that can truly grasp this word, its meaning, and then apply it to his life; thus more fully understanding what it means to appreciate something, whether he knows it or not.

    There are days when his diagnoses drive his life and days where he drives them.  It is never the same diagnoses piloting each day.  If he is being driven by his ADHD, he will be unfocused, fidgety, hyper, and all over the place.  If his BiPolar is the pilot, then you will see his behavior and mindset go from severe depression to the point of thoughts of suicide or you will see tiredness.  Lastly, the diagnoses that can also pilot him is Asperger’s.  With this one, you will see agitation to loud noises, solidarity, and severe hyper-focusing on one specific topic at a time.  It is a long process of teaching him how to drive the diagnoses.  On his good days he does very well.  With that being said I feel I can best explain how my son has learned APPRECIATION.

    In June of 2013, my mother lost her battle with lung cancer and passed away.  I had to tell this son of mine the news.  He was the closest of my three boys to my mom as I made sure that he (and I, and his brothers) spent as much time with her as I possibly could given the distance of travel required between our respective homes.  

    Even before he was diagnosed, she would give me words of encouragement and remind me he was a person with feelings.  My mother never treated him as though he were troubled or unruly. 

    When I first told him, he had the ‘normal’ response you would expect from a child and he cried.  The questions that followed were ones including:  “So, when can I visit her again?” and “Can I call her and talk to her?”

    So then, of course, you explain the no’s of it all and explain that the memories you have are how you get to visit.  You teach the value of your memories and then you use the word APPRECIATION in context by saying, “Every moment you get to spend with someone you love you create a memory of that person so if you lose them you gain an APPRECIATION of all the moments you spent with them and the life that they lived.”

I have a tile with vinyl lettering on it that sits in my living room for our guests to see and it says this: