Archive for May 2021
Jackson Street Roundhouse
I want to give a huge shout out to the staff and volunteers at the Jackson Street Roundhouse and the Minnesota Transportation Museum. So much kindness for our family. We enjoyed walking around at our own pace and riding the train. Cooper loved the ‘free’ train magazines (which we donated for , Sawyer loved the hot dog stand, and Harbor adored the model trains. He even dove under the fence to get a closer look. And I teared up when Cooper signed ‘thank you’ to three volunteers and they signed…
Read MoreHappy Birthday Grandma
Immediately after Cooper got on the bus this morning I sent this email to his teacher. Good morning! Cooper wanted me to tell you it’s his grandmas birthday today and we are celebrating tomorrow after the train museum. He’s very excited. He also has crazy socks on!’ I sent it because he is so excited for his grandma’s birthday he can hardly stand it. Add in our trip to the train museum tomorrow and crazy sock day and today is the best day ever for him. He gasped and danced…
Read MoreChoosing Gratitude
Yesterday I visited my dad at his nursing home. He had a stroke in April and while his mind and humor are spot on, his arm and leg don’t want to cooperate much anymore. So, he’s officially in the system as he says. This is my fifth time seeing him since his stroke and I didn’t cry as much this time. Instead we laughed a lot. We joked about a lot of things and it felt good to replace the sadness with humor. It felt natural for us. And then…
Read MoreRemember My Boy
The next time you are stuck at the grocery store, irritated with the man at the front of the growing line because he keeps chatting with the clerk, think of my boy. The man might be verbally ruminating about new soda flavors he saw on tv or explaining his frustration that the store is out of the only bread he eats. How it is very important because he eats this bread for every meal in his day. He may also bring up the triangle-shaped crackers he saw on aisle seven.…
Read MoreEach Child is Uniquely Made
I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over my 10 years of motherhood is that every child is different. There is no norm really. Or perfect mold. Each one is uniquely made. What makes one tick does not necessarily work for the other. And your children can be like you or entirely different. Or have bits and pieces of you. Maybe even your most challenging traits. So it almost feels like you are parenting a mini version of your naughty self. That’s fun. My three boys range…
Read MoreHow to Treat a Person With Disabilities
My middle son Sawyer is at the age where he asks a lot of questions. The questions are pure and innocent and often make me smile or giggle. Or cringe. He asks me a lot of questions about other children. He will tell me stories from school and ask me why a child was mean or why they acted a certain way. Or he will loudly ask why the cashier at Target is in a wheelchair or why the man in line next to us has purple hair. Or why…
Read MoreI Refuse to be Silent in a World that Needs to Hear Everyone
The society I grew up in is much different than the one I live in right now. The society I grew up in had people hidden away to never be seen or heard. The society I grew up in had labeled, ridiculed everyone and anyone who needed any type of support. I want to say society has grown a tad from when I grew up many years ago. I want to say society has started to change and grow so everyone is accepted and included. I want to say things…
Read MoreMore Than a Caregiver
I am so excited to share with you that Finding Cooper’s Voice is launching a brand new initiative to help caregivers! We are partnering with a counseling agency to bring counseling services to caregivers in need. And we are offering it FREE OF CHARGE for the caregiver. Finding Cooper’s Voice, along with donations and support, will pay for up to 3 counseling sessions per caregiver. We are also going to remove the barriers to getting counseling. So often, as parents, we struggle to help ourselves. It can all feel like…
Read MoreWhat I Wouldn’t Give to Peek Inside Your Mind
I’ve been smacked across the face, shoved, had my hair pulled, laundered urine-soaked sheets and scrubbed floors covered in the breakfast that was back handed to the floor the minute it was placed on the table … and it is only 6:30 am. This is the direct result of autism, anxiety and a complete lack of bodily control, which is exponentially worsened when a medication must be adjusted or changed. Watching either of my children suffer is probably my most helpless experience as a parent. Add to that a child…
Read MoreAsking for Help Didn’t Make Me Weak, It Made Me Stronger
For some people it’s the diagnosis that stings. That punch in the gut that takes the breath right out of you. For me it was the months that followed. My whole life…the word Autism never meant anything bad. It never really meant anything to me. I felt relieved that finally no one could place the blame on me for my son’s behaviors and actions. However, that diagnosis became way too real for me. For the first time ever at Jackson’s first therapy appointment, he would not look at his therapists.It…
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