Here they are. These are the people who are going to change the world for young adults with mental handicap. Mothers all, these are women who know that the future of their children depends upon them. No one else.

Now that Moy Moy is in the CVT, I will be attending monthly parents’ meetings along with the parents of the 26 other young adults who attend the centre every day.  At Friday’s meeting, I was the only new parent to turn up. Of the parents of the old students, about a dozen had come.

It’s an interesting quandry. Everyone talked about the problems they had in attending, about the difficulties of getting away from work or home or the demands of family life and no one doubted anyone else’s story for a moment. They are genuine concerns, real limitations, absolutely insurmountable difficulties.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter. The universe (the same one that sent Shruti just the day I called for her – see below)  doesn’t care about our difficulties or problems or inability to find the time. Our children will still keep growing, still keep moving along that forward curve into the future and like it or not, one day, very very soon, we are going to turn around and see that they are adults. They are not sitting around, waiting for us to get it together Where are their jobs? Where is the day centre where they can go to meet their friends and have some meaningful activities in their day?

After a lifetime of education – 12 or 15 years in school, skills acquired, routines established – are we really ready to ask them to sit at home now and rot?

Come on, parents! It’s up to us. We can do it!