Jessica: "So you've opened two schools. You're a twin mom. Why embark on this new adventure now? ...And why sensory products?
I've heard that question a thousand times over. I sort of just glossed it over.
Until now.
By now, you've already read my bio. Opening two start up schools, becoming a mom to identical twin boys at 41, and now the launch of "A Wide World of Wonder." No, I'm not supermom. Like the rest of my fellow momma bears, I'm exhausted, spread thin, and am pretty regularly wishing for just 3 minutes to myself. So, why this and why now?
Meet Chase and Cameron. They are now 5, thriving, and wise beyond their years. However, at 18 months, I was scared out of my mind.
Something. just. wasn't. right.
Within a matter of days, I had the early intervention specialists at the house conducting the evaluations.
After a thorough evaluation and begging the evaluators to prescribe services to my children "who didn't appear to need it," our journey began. Guess what? They did need it. After a lengthy advocacy process, Cameron and Chase ended up receiving OT 2x a week as well as play therapy. Let's just say game-changer.
It was during those months that I poured over every resource ever written about sensory needs. Amazon Prime deliveries were boxes of books that I would read cover-to-cover during sleepless nights. I learned about bear walks, crab walks, handstands, the power of sand, rice, play dough, and sensory input. On any given day, my neighbors would watch us morph into bears, scurry across the hard wood floors like crabs, and well you know the rest. We did this to regulate our bodies. Interestingly, it regulated mine too.
There was another sort of magic happening too. That magic was found in kinetic sand and play dough. Brand new wall-to-wall carpets? Didn't care. Watching my twins engage with these materials (for hours), describe the textures, build, create, and imagine was worth far more than the newly installed carpets. It was calming. It engaged their senses. What I was observing was self-regulation. Cameron and Chase were beginning to find their own ways to regulate their bodies and self-sooth. What I didn't know is that we ALL look for ways to self-regulate. The only difference is that some of us need to be taught HOW to.
So yeah, building sensory kits isn't just a passion of mine, it is therapy to me, and it saved my kids. Sure, my resume is impressive. Is homemade kinetic sand and play dough an "impressive" addition to the resume? Depends on who you ask. But quite frankly, I'm finding this journey much more fulfilling than anything I've even done. All I know is this: If I can provide for families what I did for Cameron and Chase, that to me is the ultimate success.
Leave a comment below. Let's build a community of momma bears so we can finally retire the "momma hood can be so lonely at times." Because truth is, it doesn't have to be.
XOXO,
Jessica
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