Greatness is Expected of You

The title of this post pretty much sums up how I feel about anyone who has a part in Emma's life, which I've come to call Team Emma. The team is headed by Chris and me, but there are so many members.

That's the first thing I learned when Emma was diagnosed with profound hearing loss and cerebral palsy - the group of people involved in your child's life grows exponentially! The next thing I learned is that I can hire and fire those members on the team as necessary. It took me a while to invoke that power, but now I'm comfortable making changes to the team. Members who don't believe in my child nearly as much as I do don't stay on our team very long. I'm a firm believer in the child rises (or sinks) based on expectations and Emma deserves to be surrounded with people who believe and enable her (out of the box thinking required!) to rise to meet our high expectations.

I'm thinking of giving our team a slogan - Team Emma: Greatness is Expected of You (it would look good on a t-shirt, right?). After all, if I state it up front then those on the team know what is expected up front.

So, what exactly do I mean by Greatness is Expected? I mean that my little girl is bright, engaging and driven. She should not be underestimated - and neither should her parents! I expect family members to believe that Emma will achieve a lot in her lifetime and demand her to work hard while having fun. I expect therapists to believe in Emma's unlimited potential, for goals to be set high with appropriate timelines and outside support brought in as necessary. In short, I expect a lot from Team Emma. And in return, Emma will give you the greatest gift possible - her tireless effort to reach the goals with a huge smile on her face. What more can you ask for?