August 31, 2012
“How do you honor yourself?” The question hung in the air expectantly; no one was quite sure how to answer it. We had to give it some thought. I was attending a small dinner party at my boyfriend’s house, and one of the guests, a friend of his who plays the viola in an orchestra,
July 26, 2012
Stress over $16,000 bill from USDA? Check. Erratic sleep schedule? Check. More-than-moderate alcohol consumption? Check. Hypomanic episode? Done. * I got back from the concert feeling pretty ramped up. Earth, Wind & Fire were awesome! We had a great time! I felt so full of life and energy, and at 11:30PM I texted my
July 12, 2012
Adam surfaces from the clear, slow-moving river he has just jumped into. He sputters and gasps, invokes Divine intervention. “It’s so COLD!” he cries, as if emerging from glacial runoff. Quickly he attempts to pull himself up onto the large surrounding rocks, slipping on the algae-covered ones beneath the surface. He slides to another area,
June 28, 2012
drawing by Tom Woolley * On a warm summer night about sixteen years ago, when Neil was twenty months old, I suddenly woke up and knew that my son was sleepwalking. I hadn’t heard a thing; the house was silent. But I awoke with this flash of knowledge, this awareness. I got out of bed
June 21, 2012
I remember hearing that somewhat off-putting phrase when I was a kid, on summer evenings while riding bikes with the neighbor kids. “Mom says it’s time to come in for dinner!” “As if!” As in, You telling me will not make me go in. As in, No way, I’m having too much fun. And, I’m
June 7, 2012
Dear US Marine Corps Recruiter, First off, I wanted to express how much my family and I support and appreciate those who put themselves in harm’s way and sacrifice time with their families while serving in the military. We have a special Veteran’s Day tradition that Neil started years ago, and we always remember that
May 31, 2012
base of a statue in Thailand * It was the night before my seventh birthday, and I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. After I brushed my teeth, I picked up a tube of Chapstick and put some on my lips. Since I have always been inexplicably compelled to read labels, I read
May 24, 2012
In 2008, when I was a new blogger, I would find a few blogs that I liked and read them for a few months, and then the blogger would stop blogging. Their last post would be a fairly typical post for them, with no indication that they were going to stop blogging or needed to
October 4, 2011
I was going to write a hopeful post, an “it-will-be-okay” post, about how even though Neil had a seizure last week, and I discovered him postictal, face down in a huge pile of Lego, bleeding from several cuts on his forehead, nose, and neck, he told me the next day that he thought he understood
September 27, 2011
I am thrilled to announce that I have been published in an awesome new book: Wit and Wisdom from the Parents of Special Needs Kids, an anthology of essays written by over forty bloggers, and edited by Lynn Hudoba. It’s a fast-reading, highly enjoyable book, one that fellow parents will be nodding along to and
September 18, 2011
I was leaving for work the other morning, walking to my car parked in the driveway, when I heard something that instantly got my attention. It was coming from the bus stop for the middle school kids, and it sounded like an argument or fight. I listened a few more seconds and realized that one
September 6, 2011
“It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” – Charles Dudley “On a spiritual level you will experience a different mode altogether. Your attention should turn to others and their needs; find ways to be of help and give time and
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