Our fourth baby is due in 93 days. Not that I’m counting or anything. Although pregnancy in your late 30’s during a pandemic and a Minnesota winter with three wild boys is no joke. I’m trying to enjoy it. And I am. But tick tock over here. Yesterday, as I was attempting to sneak a few minutes of alone time midday, my two older boys made their way into my room. They always find me. Sawyer pulled up a pillow and a blanket next to me and began watching a…
My sweet boy, We just got back from a car ride. We do that sometimes. You and me. We used to ride around to help you calm down. A much needed break for both of us to reset. Now we drive around and hunt for trains. Not a lot has changed over the years except now you are ten. And you can buckle your own seatbelt. A skill we worked on for years. A skill that you are incredibly proud of. We still ride mostly in silence. When you were…
Did you know that someone once told me that our third son, the one in the middle, was a replacement child for Cooper? I assume they wrote that comment to hurt me. Or to remind me what a crappy mom I am. Or maybe they were just angry and miserable. Who knows I guess. What a ridiculous statement though. A replacement child. I’m not sure why we would ever replace Cooper. He’s very much here. He’s 10 and is currently waiting on two movies from Amazon. This morning he asked…
Here are 12 of the now nearly 100 members of Finding Cooper’s Voice Blog Squad. Daily they inspire, advocate, educate, and give hope to others going through the special needs life. Each of them has started either a blog and/or social media channels to help advocate. It has been amazing watching each of them grow and help others simply by sharing their story. Have a blog or social channels that’s focused on advocacy? Come join us! Here’s how: 1. Join Coop’s Troops: https://www.facebook.com/becomesupporter/772295979579532/ 2. Join Coop’s Troop Blog Squad Remember,…
Dear anxiety, You and me need to have a talk. Because this co-existing crap isn’t working anymore. We need to set up some rules. You have been with my son since birth, although, like his autism, we didn’t know until much later. You are a thief. A thief of joy, of calm, of growth. His and ours. I used to think of you as a monster. A loud, huge, lumbering monster coming right at us. Once I learned more about you, I could see you plain as day. You didn’t…
I’m really bad at asking for help. And I don’t mean that in a job interview sorta way where you say your biggest weakness is ‘doing too much’ because you secretly want to make yourself look good. Nope, this isn’t that. I’m really bad at asking for help. It’s a character flaw really. And it isn’t necessarily a good thing. It’s more of a sinking in a boat and someone throws you a life raft and you smile and say, ‘thank you, but I got this.’ When clearly, you don’t.…
My sweet husband, You and I have never been big Valentine’s people. Or gift givers really. Ever since we had kids we always say we will take a day together and go shopping and buy something for each other but it never happens. There’s never time. And well, this Valentine’s Day feels even less lovey than the others. For starters it feels like we have spent every minute together since last Valentine’s Day. That’s a lot of time together. It’s also -17 degrees outside right now which is making us…
Shia is our beautiful autistic, primarily non verbal, 10 year old son, who also has sensory processing disorder. I have watched him in his world over the years. I have felt his world deeply and I have seen the impact his world has on his Daddy. Enjoy a peek into his world as you read below… Come into my world and I will help you let go of the things that cause you to lose your peace…just ask my Daddy. Your world is too chaotic for me. Too much noise.…
To my son’s teacher, From the time I found out that Nathan had autism I started thinking about school and I always got anxiety. Once he entered his second year of preschool my anxiety started going through the roof. I was so worried about him going to Kindergarten. I would cry most nights thinking about it. He was safe in preschool. He had routine. He loved his teacher. I would wonder who his new teacher was going to be. I would pray every single night that God would protect him…
Hi. My name is Carrie. We’ve never met, but I read the news report about what happened to you at school, when your paraprofessional used a stapler to attach a note to your hair. She said she wanted to send a reminder home to bring in a water bottle the next day. Right away, I want to tell you I am very, very sorry. Reading your story made my heart squeeze tight. I felt sick inside, to be honest. I pictured you standing in your classroom, waiting for a drink…
