It is said that if you say it out loud, the universe will make it happen.
While I was in India, she texted me - “Jaya di our desi mom group is actually a family. So once you come can we please celebrate either late diwali meet or Thanksgiving meet..?” This was right after Diwali. I was too busy wrapping up my trip, she reached out to some of the moms here and when I came back they had a dream. Hosting a festival meetup for our group.
The Special needs families were going to have a festival meet with families just like theirs, where no one would judge the spinning, flapping, running around or meltdowns or picky eaters. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? But it is not that easy to plan and execute. 3 of them started the planning, 2 more joined and before they knew it, it picked up momentum. They were thinking 30-40 total and already 25 families were ready to join. These 5 ladies did the planning, looking for free/rental spaces, games, food, caterer. I gave them my experience and guidance but they did the work.
All of them brought something to the table and it was wonderful. Simple food was ordered, simple decorations were decided on along with very green and economical planning, so perfect for families like ours.
I loved the venue because for the first time I wasn’t driving miles, it was half a mile from my home.
On that very perfect, sunny and warm fall day, the party went very well. 23 families met, many of them for the first time, the kids got to enjoy, eat and be themselves, dads got to meet other dads. Moms connected in real world and all of them asked for more of these events.
We did see some meltdowns but they were nothing compared to the joy that we noticed before. We decided to let go of those memories and hold on to the happy ones where familes got to dress up and eat with their village where there was no one to be judged or to judge.
Pictures cannot show the joy but they can tell you some stories.
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