Nobody is thankful for the disability trenches. No thank you for wiping rear ends way past the expected age range or getting hair pulled out during a meltdown. I don't see the praises for IEPs that haven't really changed in years because the level of learning is pretty much the same year after year. And no Hallelujah for when high school is finished for the virtually unemployable. We only hear … [Read more...]
Stuck On Repeat (The Special Needs Repetition)
* Some names have been changed. You know why. Almost every day my husband purposely sings a song with the intention of getting the tune stuck on repeat in my head. It's usually something obscure and fairly terrible. (Shhh. Don't tell him I secretly find this endearing.) With the exception of Friday. On Friday I can count on him waking the whole house with Rebecca Black's fabulous and memorable … [Read more...]
I Wasn’t Given a Mom Manual
I remember being in high school and I had to take a health class. You know the one where you had to carry around an egg for a week to see if you can take care of a baby. One class, I remember had to carry a doll baby that cried every time you put it down. That was brutal to watch my friends do that. Well, you just read about all the training I had to be a mother. Yes, that is right, I had … [Read more...]
When the Disability’s Not So “Bad”
I feel guilty about a very strange thing. Not about something I’ve done, but about something I was given. Today, I want to hold my hand up and shield people from paying attention to this part of my life; here, in this particular community of parents who struggle daily with special needs, and never-ending vigilance. A few codes in our neurologist’s office indicate I’ve every right to be among you … [Read more...]
Why My Child Lord?
Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 Sometimes we say, "Why me Lord?" When we struggle we may question many things. With our children with various challenges coming at them daily you may have asked yourself, "Why my child Lord?" I am going to let out a little secret here ... I am nearing 50 in the next several … [Read more...]
Joy in the Mundane
A friend asked me how my family was doing. I said all was status quo, nothing exciting, no ups, no downs. We haven't had any bad days or really exciting things to report. Today was just ... today. Sounds kind of boring to the outsider. But actually, we have so much joy in the mundane. There was a time you would find us at the soccer fields with one of our boys. Occasionally, it could feel like … [Read more...]