The Starfish Story
One morning after a terrible storm a man was walking along the beach. In the distance he saw a shape down by the water's edge. As he neared, he recognized that it was a young boy bending down, picking up objects and tossing them into the ocean.
As he approached the young man, he realized that he was picking up starfish that had been swept ashore by the storm and returning them gently to the water.
He questioned the boy about this. The boy said, "The sun is high and the water is running out
and I need to save these starfish". The man pointed out to him that there were miles and miles of beach  littered with the small creatures. He counseled the boy as to the futility of his quest and suggested that the boy could never save them all.
The boy listened politely then bent down and picked up another. After brushing off the sand and seaweed, he returned the starfish to the water. "Maybe I can't save them all", he said, "but I certainly made a difference in the life of that starfish".

As you ride along this journey with your child there will be new and unexpected challenges that need to be faced. You will go by many milestones on this journey. As the saying goes, 'a journey of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step'. If you look at all the starfish on the shore, you will be tempted to turn back. You cannot, you must save them one at a time -- one issue at a time, one melt down at time, one unsuccessful social event at a time. If you do this, you WILL make a difference in the life of your child.

The starfish story

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