Life after loss with autism, preemies and a rainbow baby
Dear Young Mom, I’m writing you because my oldest daughter will be 20 next week. This fact probably has you dropping me into the “as old as your parents” black hole but I’m you, just a decade or two away from where you are now. There is so much I have learned that I want to tell […]
This afternoon I carried Sawyer to the car without shoes, Parker and McKenna ran behind. I told them they didn’t need to grab their coats, just hurry, hurry, hurry. Ashlyn ran out with headphones dangling from one pocket, trying to stuff a cell phone into the other. A phone call two minutes prior had shot us into […]
When I was finishing up my senior year of college, I went on a job interview for a huge corporation in our area. I wanted the job so badly I actually followed all of the interview preparation tips given by my least favorite but very successful Marketing professor. I researched the company, practiced shaking hands […]
At the end of middle school a girl Ashlyn went to school with moved out of state. She was Ashlyn’s peer support, a student chosen to help her during the day, but also her friend. When she moved away we were both sad to see her go. The girls soon developed a routine of talking on […]
Half of my Instagram feed is expectant mamas, counting down the days until their family grows. I fell asleep last night remembering my days of sitting with an expanding stomach, listening to Ashlyn tell me about her day. If she mentioned a class, my mind could recall the color of the folder needed, an event at lunch […]
Since the beginning of my life as an autism mom I have been surrounded by versions of what people think our autism is. Well-meaning onlookers have mentioned that my daughter doesn’t count 5,000 items in 30 seconds like Rain Man or memorize the name of every US president like that one other person with autism they know. […]
Let me explain what it is like to go from having a child with autism to having an adult. If you already know what autism and adulthood like feel free to skip ahead to the picture at the end of this post. If you already know because you happen to be one of the few […]
There’s this strange argument I used to have with myself and I’ve always wondered if other parents did the same. As the mom of a special needs child, I looked for every opportunity for her to be with her “peers.” I wanted her to be treated like them. I wanted her to be included in […]
On the way to pick up Parker I lodged our SUV firmly in a diagonal position in the driveway. I had already run back in the house ten times to find the perfect snack/drink combo to keep Sawyer quiet for the ride so I was left with about 15 minutes to complete the 20 minute […]
When Ashlyn was young and I was too I had plans to “fix” things. I had never known anything other than a family with two parents and two brothers, each of us spaced neatly three years apart. At night, after putting her to bed and finishing my homework, I would calculate the time I needed […]
