ADHD and social interaction

I’m back after a few weeks off for the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Delia. There’s nothing like bringing a life in to this world to get you thinking about the big picture.  Life is a funny thing in that we all have our own joys, pains, triumphs, and tragedies. Especially in todays social media world of faux-friends and pretend social interaction, it can be far too easy to forget what lies beyond the walls of our own little world. Not to say that our worlds are insignificant.  On the contrary.  The beauty is that they are all significant. 

It has been my experience that, even if we struggle in social situations, most of us with ADHD have a need to be social.  We need to find balance in our lives. This struck me as I looked out the window of our hospital room while my daughter was “on her way.”  I was struck by how seminal that moment was for me.  Yet there were thousands of people out my window who knew nothing of it.  In fact, they all had their own seminal moments: births, deaths, weddings, divorces, accidents, close calls, stunning achievements, bitter disappointments.

I guess, looking out that window could make anyone feel small and isolated. But, the love of my wife and my children makes me feel connected to something bigger. The good thoughts and well wishes of friends and family that streamed in that night by text and email, the flowers that waited at the house when we got home a few days later, the gifts that have come in the mail, the offers of help from neighbors, the meals brought over, the love we have received from others has made me feel more connected than ever. We can only make our lives richer by letting our lives touch others.

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