Linda Kay Thompson has taken the challenges of worklfe balance to a whole new level. She’s a working mom who raised two boys, both with disabilities, on her own in rural Alaska. Her oldest son, Erik Behnke, is a young man living with both Down syndrome and autism; her youngest son, Christopher, is hearing impaired. As a teacher in the Alaskan Bush in the 1980s, she and her sons moved around the state, experiencing all the natural beauty the Alaskan wild has to offer.

As Erik grew up, he kept himself busy with coloring and sketching on paper, spending hours on his own artistic endeavors and drawing inspiration from other art, nature, and the world around him. Little did his family realize that Erik was teaching himself to draw and paint in his own style.

In 1998, Erik’s artwork made its debut in an Anchorage art gallery, Aurora Fine Art, launching his career as a now internationally recognized artist. 

It’s been a long and challenging road for Linda and her boys, but she maintains that each hardship has come with its own blessing. She shares her story below.

Making sure I have enough time for my children is number one on my list.  Jobs are important but never as important as my boys. I plan to spend time everyday with Erik and he is at my side everywhere I go, except work.

When my husband left us, after our daughter died due to her disabilities, I was devastated and cried for years. I thought life was going to be so wonderful, but mine seemed to only be full of challenges since all my children were challenged in one way or another. I learned that, somehow, I had to hold my sadness inside, get through a work day and keep on going. My sister, Cheryl, in California was always there on the phone - I’m so grateful that I had her.  Everyone needs a sister or a friend that can listen and not be critical.

Since my family didn’t fit in with other families, I learned to be comfortable with what I had. I learned that I didn’t need a man to make me feel happy. I learned that God would provide me with all my needs, right down to the perfect job, the perfect home, and all the food or money I needed. I watched as the exact number of fish would get caught in my net, as someone would present me with all the meat I needed, or as my garden would grow all the fruits and vegetables we required.

Moms have to be strong.  Sometimes we want someone to take care of us, but I have found that we already have all the skills we need to take care of ourselves and our children. For a few years I looked for a prince charming to come along, but finally decided to work hard, return to school at night, and get more education to improve my job skills. Now it seems that all the men I run into only want me to take care of them. With Erik by my side, I am not lonely.  

I went into Special Education as I got older. I found that 10 classes of Physical Education, my previous specialty, each day was exhausting. I looked at what I really liked doing and that was being with my children. I was not happy with some of the special education programs that my boys had and I thought I could make a difference if I entered the field. You are never too old to change careers - I finished my Alaska teachers endorsement in Special Education at 48 years of age and my Masters degree at 54 years of age. I was so inspired by Erik’s gift as an artist - his level of work as a professional artist, even though he is an elective mute with major academic and social challenges, is amazing.

The first book I wrote, Erik’s Story - Finding His Gifts Against All Odds in Rural Alaska, is about the most inspiring 2 years of my life. Erik inspires me to be the best work-a-holic possible. I love running our little art business, spreading the word through lecturing at conferences to other parents that they need to believe in their children no matter what the challenges are, and helping other women believe that they can do whatever they need to do.

The most important lesson I have tried to teach my children is that working hard is good for you. You get satisfaction out of what you have accomplished. You prove to yourself that you can do whatever needs to be done. You can pay your bills. You can feel good about yourself. Both my boys are good workers and I am proud of them. We may be a family with no father, but we are a happy family because we love each other.

Linda’s books, Erik’s Story and It’s Okay Mom, are available through

Barnes and Noble.com

and

Amazon.com

. You can also look at Erik’s artwork at the

Brown Bear Products

  website.