I’m going to be honest. I took high school calculus because my best friend was taking it, and I needed to prove I was as smart as she was. I was very insecure, and what’s worse, I hated math. But I did get something good from all those numbers: a B- and a neat little tidbit: A “googol” is 10 to the power of 100. The “googolplex” is significantly larger: 10 to the power of a googol - 10googol, or … [Read more...]
Seeds of Hope
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5 What is hope? What gives me hope in the midst of despair? I hope for spring in the midst of winter, unable to see the mysterious workings of nature deep underground. I’m powerless in the face of my need for spring. I can’t control the seasons. And yet I have faith, borne in hope, that the breeze will … [Read more...]
When Our Children with Disabilities Rise to the Occasion
(For Dana) T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the “cruellest month.” Not for me. I find it’s barren February, with its unkind cold, and in which month I have known too many men of character who have died recently, and long past. At 6’7” with a perpetual mustache, bright blue eyes, and a voice like a thunderclap, Boyd Salsbury cut an imposing profile. His demeanor was gruff, his words carefully … [Read more...]
Saving Up the Hard Stuff
“So much will change,” they say, pointing to your swollen belly, nearly giddy with the kind of knowledge that only experience supplies. “Your life will never be the same!” I know, you think smugly. I’ve heard it, I’ve read it, it’s the mantra you mothers all repeat. But they’re right, of course. While things will change, many of those changes are expected: those that arise from the training of … [Read more...]
It’s a Wonderful, Blessed Life!
As parents, how many of us set aside time every week to look back on how the week went, what we could do better, and then plan for the upcoming week? As parents of children with a disability, how many of us even have enough time to do the basics, let alone to reflect? But when we do get a sliver of time, do we spend that time being thankful for the blessings of our crazy lives? Do we even believe … [Read more...]
Have a Merry, Messy Christmas!
The world rushes by you—a flurry of last minute shoppers—pushing, stressing to get it all done. You look around and see the harsh florescent lights, thick mall crowds and crammed parking lots. You listen and hear tinny, overplayed Christmas songs, car horns, and toddlers crying. This is not your idea of a Merry Christmas. Have you lost your holiday spirit? If so, take a Christmas … [Read more...]