Life after loss with autism, preemies and a rainbow baby
When we were driving by our current house over and over again, hoping the sale would go through, I used to look around at everything. I wanted to take pictures of the worn barns, the restored and not-so-restored old homes and the horses and the tractors causing us to go 40 miles under the speed […]
Mommy what do you want to be when you grow up? Besides wondering if I should be excited or offended that my daughter thinks I haven’t grown up yet, I was grateful for the question. Last week may not have been my best week of parenting. Anniversaries and birthdays left me in a cloud of […]
The kids sent me out of the kitchen this afternoon. I headed to the laundry room since cleaning the lint filter and sorting whites is as relaxing as life gets lately and I was close enough to hear the little voices mix with the big. Today was my first birthday as a mom that they […]
I dug out our copy of The Kissing Hand in hopes it will work on the child who seems immune to its message. On Friday I peeled Sawyer’s hands from behind my neck and left him in the arms of his loving, nurturing, patient, amazing, preschool teacher. The quick goodbye strategy had worked for Ashlyn […]
Being outnumbered by small children lends itself to a particular phenomenon that I have a hard time putting into words. Since it’s hard to explain I thought I would give it a semi-creative title, create a barely-fancy illustration and share a story to cover all my bases. Lost In Translation When I had three kids […]
Not long after Sawyer was born we had to part with our rocking chair. It was the glider-type where the chair and ottoman slide in unison, unless it’s being climbed on by two 21 month-olds who are trying to touch their new baby brother’s eyeballs or slide him a Cheerio while he’s nursing. Soon my […]
We moved the kids’ carseats together so they are all in one row. They wanted them that way and some minutes everyone is almost singing Kumbaya and others I am singing “No one say anyone’s name or touch each other or breathe in your sister’s hair.” There is constant chatter now that all three are […]
Right now I am balancing my laptop with coffee in hand, drinking it while it’s hot. Sawyer is upstairs watching Alvin and the Chipmunks with eyes drooping from fresh air and the weight of his lashes. I can hear Parker, McKenna and Ashlyn’s giggles drifting through the window. They are playing drive-thru window in their […]
In my previous life I was the director of a nearby autism center. We ran many kinds of programs out of the university-based center but my favorites were the programs that involved the siblings. There was something about these kids. My daughter was still an only child at the time so I had no idea […]
We are in the middle of moving and this week has tilted me completely off center. There’s no morning schedule of coffee then oh-shoot-we-should-be-out-the-door-already. The kids have missed their 2pm chill out time with Peppa Pig and I have missed sitting down for that millisecond between getting someone’s juice and fixing the zipper on someone […]
