Sad but true; some days I just feel like quitting. For nearly 35 years I’ve been caring for our son who has special needs (cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental delays, mental handicaps, and lots of allergies (some severe and possibly fatal, namely peanuts). Both my husband and I are on watch all the time. Where is he? What is he eating? What can he eat from what is being … [Read more...]
Special Needs Humble Pie
I got a big helping of that special needs Humble Pie last week. You may have been there yourself before. Maybe it was the public meltdown stares. Or people wondering with perturbed looks surrounding public restroom issues. Possibly, you've been in a special needs situation that has been a bit humbling. They come often. So often, in fact, I am pretty used to them. Special needs is humbling. But … [Read more...]
7 Tips For Summer Gatherings
Please tell me I am not the only one who cringes with mixed emotions about summer get-togethers! I love the warm weather, time outdoors, and opportunities to connect in a relaxed setting. Still, I know these reunions, weddings, graduation parties, and family picnics will get my children's diagnoses to be noticed in ways I would rather forget. I fight dread anticipating the comments from … [Read more...]
The Goodbye Salute: Noah Transitions to Middle School
In the gymnasium at North Bend Elementary, a smallish school in a mostly agrarian county in northeast Maryland, we parents sat packed together in tight rows. We were prepping for a transition. In the front of the gym, on the floor, were rows of children from kindergarten through fourth grade. They were present as witnesses to this celebration of the fifth graders. Today, the school would laud … [Read more...]
Emily and Max Went Back to Church, and Found Extra Family
Something happened at church. Or perhaps what you need to know is, what didn’t happen. I pulled up to the church and Max bounced out of the car swinging his favorite vacuum. Several people were unsuspectingly milling around by the front door, exchanging greetings. “Watch out for the people!” I yelled behind Max as I watched his 8-pound Oreck swing like a ten ton wrecking ball. I fully expected … [Read more...]
The Angel of the Lord Encamps Around Those Who Fear Him
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 A dream image from years ago fills my mind’s eye as I sit in Lectio Divina with this verse. In the dream, a group of friends and I are gathered on lawn chairs in a horse-shoe shaped field, ringed on one end by houses. It is a beautiful night, the rural sky inky-black and star-studded; the summer air soft … [Read more...]