O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them … [Read more...]
Mom Problems
Cleanse me of my wickedness with hyssop, and I will be clean. If You wash me, I will be whiter than snow. ~ Psalm 51:7, VOICE ~ OK, so the story goes like this... I arrive at the school office to deal with some health room emergency for one of my kids. I am dressed in full business attire, make-up and picture-perfect hair, resembling your average working, competent adult. When … [Read more...]
Revisiting Grief
So, you’re going along with life, enjoying the “normal” that we all sometimes crave, and suddenly it bites you in the rear. Grief. That sorrow for things passed, melancholy caused by an empty space in your heart. True, we all face that mourning when we first realize something is wrong, or our child is first diagnosed, or when an injury changes our child’s life forever. In those times of … [Read more...]
HASENPFEFFER
Hasenpfeffer. The German name for “Rabbit Stew”. I became familiar with the term as a youngster watching Bugs Bunny cartoons where Yosemite Sam was ordered to make the dish for the petulant king whom he served as chef. I have since used it to describe what I would like to do with any unwelcome hare in either my garden or on my forthcoming holiday calendar. Let’s face it, while Easter is … [Read more...]
Dumped On
Have you ever felt “dumped on”, as if you are carrying more than your fair share of the load? At times like those the appreciation runs low while the demands run high. It’s easy for parents like us -- those who are raising a child with special needs -- to feel this way. Even in the most perfect of marriages, labor is never completely 50/50 all the time. And the type of work that each spouse … [Read more...]
A RARE Kind of Love
There are so many things that caught me by surprise when I became a mother. I always knew I wanted to have children, but I was never really in touch with my expectations beyond that. I certainly never anticipated that I would become the mother of children with special needs. When our son burst joyfully into the world over 13 years ago, he instantly placed us in that role with the mere testing of … [Read more...]