Exactly one year ago this week my father marked his 100th birthday. Lots of family and friends attended his “party” to celebrate this huge milestone and to wish him well. My father’s good health and mental sharpness were certainly contributing factors to him becoming a centenarian. While I certainly didn’t take that for granted, we had every reason to believe that there would be another party … [Read more...]
Loving our kids as we love ourselves?
People look at you and say, “I don’t know how you do it,” and you aren’t quite sure what they are talking about. You just did what was necessary. You learned about sensory integration, drug interactions, reflex integration, nutritional therapies, coffee enemas, methylation, verbal behavior training, brain gym, and a host of other things, just to help your child take one step forward... (excerpt … [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...]
A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Family
I don’t know about your family but in ours, having a young adult with complex disabilities never affords me any time to do the simple things in life, like finding time to read. The tired cliché of “there are never enough hours in the day” is the story of my life. Every day the list of things I need to do, want to do, would really like to do, outstrips even the most energetic and efficient person’s … [Read more...]
Body and Soul, She Is Marvelously Made
When my daughter was born with Down syndrome, our friends came to visit us at the hospital. Our oldest daughter was staying with them and they had brought Ellie to meet her baby sister. Our friends brought their daughter along too, she was the same age as our oldest, and like our youngest, she has Down syndrome. While we visited in the hospital room, we talked about how God had orchestrated … [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...]