"Something to learn"...by Gina Waite

Growing up in a family of eight children was a wonderful experience; however, it was not without its challenges…like the times we would be traveling and would stop at a restaurant to eat.  The wide-eyed and shocked expression on the face of each restaurant host as my father would indicate our need for a table with ten chairs was a repeated, priceless observation.   Sometimes they could sit us together after a “brief” wait…other times we just couldn't sit by each other so we would automatically go into buddy mode.  This is where you pick your favorite sibling, in that moment, and sit next to them…no matter where you would end up.  

Laundry day, with a large family,  was an especially challenging day as my mother would cringe at the never-ending pile of Mt. Washmore (thank you Susanne for this great term!)  Grocery shopping for ten people was a momentous occasion!  As my Mother would pull up into the garage with our food she would honk to indicate the necessary formation of a chain-gang to bring in the copious amounts of groceries!  ...And as much as all these were challenges…we never experienced what it would be like to have a large family and try to accommodate a child with special needs.  

It takes extraordinary parents to handle a large family!  Even more so when you consider the time and emotional investment it must take to handle a sweet child who needs a lot more consideration in day-to-day activities, than the others.  Then...to do this with grace and love and involve the entire family in the process is truly a remarkable feat…one I am happy to say I observe in my friends, The Moore family!

Brooke Moore…a sweet little angel who blesses the lives of all who know her just by being in it…descended on the house of Moore to add love, tenderness and extra consideration about twelve years ago now!  With a diagnosis in her toddler years of lissencephaly, a condition that is characterized by a gene-linked brain malformation characterized by the absence of normal folds in the cerebral cortex, Brooke has blessed everyone in the Moore family with her sweet spirit!  And as extraordinary a presence as Miss Brooke has about her, I can honestly say I am in constant awe of the entire family…no more so, however, than that of the Mother of the Moore household.

Keyli Moore, a dear friend and Wonder Woman among us, is an inspiration to behold!  Through pregnancy or ailments she has maintained a household of love AND continually provides Brooke with as much opportunity and consideration as the rest of her six children!  You can observe this outcome daily as Brooke is neatly cared for and regarded as a VERY important part of the family by the TEAM of Moore's who ready her each day!  

In my observation of this beautiful family, I've come to realize that Brooke has been the catalyst of making this family so extraordinary...it seems that "raising a child with special needs doesn't take a special family, IT makes a family special!"  To the Moore family I say, "I love and admire ALL that you are!"  To Brooke I say, "hang in there sweetheart...the rest of us still have something to learn!" 

♦ Hope you'll share YOUR stories and photos with us at: nutshellstories@gmail.com.