You guys, I just don’t have anything to say. I don’t know what to write about. I am pretty disconnected from Jack’s day to day life. There are other, comparatively minor autism-related issues with my other boys. But they feel SO VERY SMALL and, frankly, super easy compared to the challenges we faced caring for Jack. There’s grief, which I’m…
Month: August 2017
I Grew New Skin
I’m sitting at a little white Ikea table in the corner of a climbing gym, watching Charlie take part in a climbing class for kids. It’s his first ever organized sport. Ever. I watched him amble in the line of kids across the gym to a new climbing area with his signature mosey (arms slowly swinging, a literal spring in…
Foolishly Optimistic
I have been awake since 4 am, because it’s the first day of school: my own (returning as a university writing instructor) and two of my children’s (as students). This is how anxiety manifests in me—sleepless early mornings. I’m sorry if you’re sorry to see summer end. But I’m personally okay with it because I love the fall and we…
Summer of Change
I’ve had a trying week for various reasons. Long story short, just days before the first day of school, we had to move our 4th grader to a new school. It was unexpected, but necessary. It stressed the heck out of me, but it was the right move and I’m peaceful about it. The last week of summer is the…
Being Human
As part of our Celebrate Twenty-Years of Marriage Getaway, I got a pedicure this afternoon. This is how it went down. A. As the nail tech removed the old shellac from my toes to make way for the new, the two women sitting to my left, who were getting their own pedicures, had a conversation. B. Tan Woman in Shorts…
Plays! Plays! Plays!
In celebration of being married FOR TWENTY YEARS, PEOPLE, Jeff and I are on a getaway in our favorite desert oasis, with the express purpose of seeing plays. I am not speaking hyperbole when I say I have yearned for years to go see some Shakespeare and some musical theater, which since we became special-needs parents, has been one of…
A Really Long Speech I Gave on Jesus to a Bunch of Teens
Let’s play a game of Would You Rather. I honestly don’t know if this is an actual legit game, or it my family just invented it sometime during my childhood. Anyway, the basic idea is to present someone with two possibilities and ask, “would you rather (insert option A) or (insert option B)?” A few examples that I remember my…
A Master Class in Grief & Growth
I had a conversation with my children’s psychiatrist yesterday where I expressed that I want my boys to learn resilience and flexibility. Life with Jack has already taught all of us a great deal about compassion, faith, and hope. We are slower to judge. We are better equipped to see the good in people, despite the cumbersome trappings of bad…