There is no place for comparative suffering amidst this pandemic. I’d venture to say we are all experiencing waves of panic, grief, uncertainty, and unease. No one is guaranteed their job, food, toilet paper, their comfort or their loved ones. And feeling those feelings is natural and thankfully bonds us together in this chaos. We may be socially distancing but we can experience closeness knowing we are not alone.
For the longest time, and still now, I have the same disturbing thought. When I see someone with a brand new baby, and I can see the love that is expressed beyond words, the care, devotion and the worry that only a parent knows, I want them to feel what it feels like to have …
I did what a lot of people did this week. I shared our highlight reel on Facebook. The smiling photos of each of my children enjoying Christmas but in reality we are happy to be moving on and away from a holiday whose traditions punctuate the masterful act of pretending that we find ourselves performing …
I had a doctor’s appointment last month and while waiting for the doctor the medical assistant asked me where I vacationed this summer. I answered that I spent my entire summer sitting in the doorway of the half bathroom waiting for my five year old to pee. In fact, I had gotten quite good at …
In the very early days of Mark’s autism diagnosis, I found myself in a little, darkened observation room, perched in front of a two-way mirror watching Mark during his special group speech program alongside other parents, who I would learn later were at the exact same spot on their journey. One of these parents has …
The night before I went into labor with our third baby, I was feeling restless and wrote a draft blog post about facing challenges and doing things previously thought impossible. If someone had told me years ago that I would have a child with special needs and a rare genetic disorder with no cure, and …
I can remember sitting alone in the rocking chair in Mark’s room in the dark as I spoke to a friend about Mark’s diagnosis and what it meant for our family. The final thing I lamented over was not having any more children due to the magnitude of Mark’s care. She didn’t say anything directly …
Last fall I sat in the waiting room of a doctor’s office holding a copy of my ultrasound. To my left and right were young couples gushing over their little fetuses on the sonogram pictures. I was holding a photo of my fibroid friend who had decided to set up shop in my uterine lining and I …
Over the weekend Jillian had a soccer game at our local school grounds. Ike was away on a camping trip so with the help of my mom we wrangled both kids that morning. Mom and I took turns taking Mark for wagon rides around the middle and elementary schools. As I pulled him along, listening …
An Open Letter to the Parents of My Son’s Future Classmates Read More »
Several weeks ago, I sat in the waiting room of the orthopedic office waiting to check out. Ike had just taken Mark out to the car, sweaty and traumatized from the multiple X-rays, removal of his long arm cast and the placement of a new cast. This was the worst appointment of them all. As …
Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning’s End Read More »
