I have to be honest. After 25 years, the pressures and strain of raising a child with complex disabilities have never gone away. They’re not always top of mind but they remain, nonetheless. Most of the time, these pressures don’t bother me since they’re just a part of my life. But I’m finding that the older I get, the harder life gets. Life isn’t supposed to get harder as you get older. It’s … [Read more...]
Thankful for the Disability Trenches
Nobody is thankful for the disability trenches. No thank you for wiping rear ends way past the expected age range or getting hair pulled out during a meltdown. I don't see the praises for IEPs that haven't really changed in years because the level of learning is pretty much the same year after year. And no Hallelujah for when high school is finished for the virtually unemployable. We only hear … [Read more...]
6 Disability Lessons Learned from a Kitchen Knife
About six weeks ago, the knife I was using to remove the label from a container slipped and severed the tendon in my left thumb. After waking up from repair surgery to a left hand swathed and immobile in a ginormous splint, the surgeon outlined a list of restrictions. No lifting with the left hand. No driving. No getting the splint wet. Those three restrictions plunged me into the world of … [Read more...]
Becoming a Wounded Healer
“Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.” Henri … [Read more...]
A Shepherd’s Story of Good News
It’s that time of year again. Merry Christmas and ho-ho-ho. The Greatest Story of All – the one about God taking on human form in the birth of a baby – tends to get trampled in the rush to the mall the day after Thanksgiving, and swept away with all the wrappings and ribbons on December 26th. It happens year after year, despite the best of intentions. But imagine this. Imagine for just one … [Read more...]
Special Needs, Special Community
When the young woman flashed me a friendly smile and asked, “How are you?” my involuntary shrug and the words “I’ve been better,” tumbled out before I could stop myself. I could have sworn I meant to offer her the obligatory “Fine,” followed by my typical Sunday greeting smile. My veneer, however, had worn too thin to hide the stress of another morning battle with my son with autism, the young man … [Read more...]