April 17, 2018, is World Hemophilia Hemophilia Day. Before you tune out because you don't have a loved one affected by my son's rare bleeding disorder, listen to this year's theme — "Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger." That's a theme I find to have relevance far beyond the hemophilia community. In fact, I would say that the theme of strength in sharing is extremely apropos for every parent … [Read more...]
Change
Change… What thoughts and feelings go through your mind when you hear this word? For some, there is a great excitement and anticipation. For many of you there is a deep weight that comes over you and a gnawing in the pit of your stomach as anxiety comes over you when you think about all the implications of that one word. Many of you who now struggle with change, may have at one point been huge … [Read more...]
Here’s How It Gets Easier
I am come that they might have life. And have it more abundantly. John 10:10b, KJV I had my first social media dust-up a few months ago. It freaked me out to the point of making all my accounts ultra-private, and stopped me from commenting on anything for quite a while. I had the audacity to comment something positive on a special needs parenting post. I threw my glass-half-full attitude into a … [Read more...]
Looking for the Bright Side
It can always be worse. There’s always something to be thankful for. Look on the bright side. Whenever my child is sick or in the hospital, people try to encourage me to keep a healthy perspective with familiar sayings. I know these people are right, but it’s hard to do at times. My medically complex child has thrown many curveballs over the past 11 years. We’ve had planned surgeries and … [Read more...]
The Weight of Loving Someone with Great Need
This Weight. It's heavy. The weight of special needs was something we've gotten used to along the way. It was gradual, never too life threatening. But this. It's daunting. We long to be at home, away from the hospital, but there is no doubt being home, alone, is its own kind of hard. When I was young I remember thinking how difficult it is to keep a baby alive. Oh, young, naive Stephanie. Silly … [Read more...]
Autism and Dementia: How Do We Cope?
Last week, on a gloomy Thursday afternoon, I sat in the prayer room on our retreat center’s property with a student from Miami University. It was the first meeting of a spiritual mentoring relationship. I lit a candle and made her a cup of tea. Frankly, I wondered if I had anything to give that day. The day before I’d visited my mom, who is careening headlong into full-blown dementia. I’d … [Read more...]