Do you ever ask yourself what’s really important in life? Such a lofty question usually solicits ambiguous answers like happiness, fulfillment, joy. But what do those words look like in our everyday lives?

Dog tired from a long day, I crawled into well-worn sweats and sat next to Tanaya to relax. With one eye on one of her reality shows, I scrolled through news of the day. Oblivious to my lack of attention, Tanaya shared the names of her new friends on the bus, the activities from the day’s program, how the bus driver told her, the new program had lots of nice people and the best part was playing Uno while waiting for pick up.

Then in her sweet soft voice she said, ‘Will you watch TV with me and read the news tomorrow? And can we do a ‘Fiton’ and you do the news later?’ My heart skipped a beat. I stopped my scrolling and set the phone down. Looking straight in her eyes I responded, “Thank you T-cup. Thank you for telling me what is really important.’ I wrapped her in a big hug and offered to brush her hair, while we watched the show. For me, seeing the happiness in my daughter’s whole being by changing to another community-based program, after a 3-year struggle to make it happen, brought me fulfillment and joy.

Please consider donating, so we can provide all our kids with CdLS the potential for happiness, fulfillment, and joy.


Ava Frank