It’s hard not to feel as if the world’s on the brink of collapse these days. Five minutes of the evening news is enough to warrant Zantac. It doesn’t help that I write on policy (among other things), and so I am often online digesting politics with my morning cereal. Guess what? Politics doesn’t naturally lead to gratitude. Who knew. Right now, people seem inscrutable, rhetoric is flammable, … [Read more...]
One Thing I’ve Learned from Special Needs … Pray
If there's one thing I've learned from special needs ... pray. Pray. Before everything else. Pray. When I'm overwhelmed and in the midst of the chaos. Pray. When there's nothing else. Pray. With my eldest I can remember two distinct times of prayer when he was a baby. Two times. Two times I cried out to God in need in those early years. I'm sure I prayed, but life was just easier with a … [Read more...]
5 Things I Learned from Our Pilgrimage to the Holy Door
Holy Doors are massive bronze works of art located in selected cathedrals and basilicas around the world. They are only opened during Jubilee Years which typically occur once every 25 years. Not surprisingly, the traditional Holy Door is in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, but on December 8, 2015, Pope Francis announced the Jubilee Year of Mercy and designated 8 Holy Doors around the world. The only … [Read more...]
The Summer “Gentling:” Or, How Disability Will Jack Up Your Original Blog Title If You Wait Long Enough.
I came up with the title, “The Summer Gentling” on one of summer’s earliest days. I came up with it because for one blazing second I thought that things would be quieter or easier when my children weren’t bound into a schedule of academics and activities. I thought that waking late and laying around and playing in the pool were the panacea to stress, and my complaining, holler-y kids would become … [Read more...]
Using Grief for Good
Do you ever get tired of the persistent emotions of parenting a child with special needs? There are many times I am so tired of all the emotions that inevitably come along with caring for Calvin who is often sick and deals with severe disabilities. I want to pack my bags and move from on out from Sadness to Joy, permanently. Don't get me wrong, there is lots of love, shenanigans, … [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...]